<div>The British have had an affair with Bugatti for decades and perhaps Prescott Hill-Climb in Gloucestershire is the place where that relationship has reached its highlights across the decades. This collection of photographic images captures the brilliance of Bugatti design amid Bugatti blue at Prescott's wonderful natural amphitheatre in the Cotswolds  to which visitors, Bugatti owners, enthusiasts and addicts have travelled from all over the world to gather and to race up the hill.The author has spent years around old cars, often visiting Prescott and its home to the Bugatti Owners Club  which itself celebrates the 80th anniversary of its base at Prescott in 2018 and, the Clubs own 90th anniversary in 2019.In this collection of over 200 photographs, much of the masterworks of Molsheim are captured in action and at rest, at the altar of British Bugatti enthusiasm. Herein are wonderful moments and memories of old Bugatti cars, their owners and drivers, and other vintage and classic cars in VS-CC action at this revered location.This new collection of stunning images, allied to a concise narrative (with assistance from Bugatti experts), should provide the classic car enthusiast with something new to accompany their own memories amid a record of Prescott and the Bugatti Owners Club events and Veteran Sports-Car Club days.</div>

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Bugatti Blue

<div><B>&ldquo;An excellent account of the political battles and the commercial skulduggery . . . and its outstanding service as a transport and tanker with the RAF.&rdquo; &mdash;</B><B>Firetrench</B><BR />  <BR /> The VC10 was the nation&rsquo;s biggest jet airliner of its age and regarded as the world&rsquo;s best-looking airliner. It was safe, fast, and designed to take off from short runways in Africa and Asia, at the request of its main operator BOAC&mdash;the airline that would later go on to become today&rsquo;s British Airways.<BR />  <BR /> The VC10 and the larger Super VC10 were beloved by pilots and passengers alike and became icons of the 1960s. They were hugely popular all over the world.<BR />  <BR /> Yet the VC10 was eclipsed by Boeing&rsquo;s 707 which sold by the hundreds, despite the fact that the 707 was less capable and could not initially operate from the runways of the Commonwealth and old British Empire routes, as the VC10 undoubtedly could. This book blends the story of VC10 development with a well-researched tale of corporate and political power play. It asks; just what lay behind the sales failure of the VC1O?<BR />  <BR /> Politics played an important part of course, as did BOACs tactics, and a whodunnit cast of politico-corporate events and machinations at the highest level of society during the dying days of Empire in 1960s Britain. Key players in the story, from Tony Benn to famous test pilot Brian Trubshaw (Concorde), are cited and quoted.<BR />  <BR /> By exploring this historical period in depth and highlighting all the various impediments that stood in the way of success for the VC10, Lance Cole adds an important layer to our understanding of twentieth century history. </div>

VC10: Icon of the Skies

<div>The story of the Supermarine Spitfire has been told across many years and the debate about it is enduring, yet the Spitfire remains a true icon. For aviation enthusiasts, for historians, for modellers, the word Spitfire conjures many stories and affections. This book presents the Spitfire enthusiast with an up-to-date history of the Spitfire  not just in its design and application in war, but also as a flying memorial and as an aero modellers vital focus.The text examines recently revealed forgotten aspects of the Spitfire story; by combining the elements of design, the story of a weapon of war and a revered scale model, this book frames an essential chapter in aviation history. Packed with original and contemporary images and information, and displaying unique Spitfire model collections, the narrative bridges an important gap and is a worthy addition to the FlightCraft series.</div>

The Supermarine Spitfire MKV

<div>There are many myths and legends surrounding the advanced German aeronautical technology of the Second World War. There are also facts and proven events. Yet within these stories and behind these facts lie conspiracy theories, mistaken assumptions and denials that seem to contradict the evidence. So what really happened? How far ahead were the German scientists? And, of even greater interest, why and how?There have been other books about advanced German wartime aeronautics, yet few authors have fully examined the detail of the designs and their relevance to the fighter and bomber legends of the 1950s and '60s, let alone the current crop of military and civil all-wing or blended-wing aircraft. This book charts the story from it origins, through current-day innovations and beyond, into the all-wing future of tomorrow.</div>

Secret Wings of World War II

<div>This book tells the tale of the brilliant aerodynamicist Beverley Shenstone MASc, HonFRAes, FAIAA,AFIAS, FCASI, HonOSTIV. As R.J. Mitchells chief aerodynamicist, it was Shenstone who designed the Spitfires wing  the wing that gave the Spitfire it crucial advantage in the Battle of Britain and beyond. A quiet man, Shenstone never sought glory for his work, yet in recent years he has been credited as the man who persuaded Mitchell to adopt the ellipse  a modified ellipse that was unique in its shape and its combined use of two integrated aerofoil sections. Shenstones knife-edge shape reached far back into early aeronautics for its inspiration. This book also names the other forgotten Spitfire design contributors who were Mitchells men  Mr Faddy, Mr Fear, Mr Fenner, Mr Shirvall, a Prof Howland and others.Intriguingly, Shenstone had left his native Canada and early training as an RCAF pilot, to study at Junkers and then under the father of the delta wing  Alexander Lippisch in Germany in the early 1930s. There, he became immersed in delta wings and flying wings. He also became a glider pilot. The story of how Beverley came to be in the right place at the right time is revealed for the first time. So too are the enigmatic tales of his involvement with the military, the intelligence world, Lord Beaverbrook , the USAF, and Canadian aviation.During the war Shenstone worked at the top secret Wright Patterson air force base and was involved with the Air Ministry and the pro-British movement in America when Shenstone worked for Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, the unsung hero behind British defence procurement. Shenstone achieved high office  a President of the Royal Aeronautical Society, technical director at BOAC, chief engineer at BEA and a consultant to several aircraft makers. He was courted by Avro, de Havilland and Vickers, and was the force behind the renaissance of human-powered flight.Using exclusive access to his family documents, his unpublished autobiography and many notes and stories, as well as forensic research, this book details for the first time, a new twist to the Spitfires story and the secrets of its advanced science. A tale of design and military intelligence reveals a story of a man whose name should be more widely known in the UK, Canada and the aviation world.</div>

Secrets of the Spitfire

<div>Nothing is new under the sun and classic cars books come and go. But here, instead of a heavy, large, glossy book of classic car images and details destined to stay on a shelf, is something new. This book is designed to be read as a companion, a book that can go in the car or on a 'plane, and which can be read in full, or dipped into anywhere for a classic car fix. Old stories and new details are presented and cover all eras of our cars. Gathered here is a compilation of the author's published and unpublished adventures and opinions about the design and the driving of some of the greatest cars in motoring history. From 'vintagent' to 'modern classic', pristine to oily-rag, up hill, down dale and across continents, award-winning motoring author, designer and serial classic car owner, Lance Cole, charts the great classic car enthusiasm in a series of engaging essays about cars, car design and the men that made the motor industry.  From tales of Malcolm Sayer to Bedelia, and of BMW, Jaguar, Bugatti and Porsche, to tales of old Saabs and rusty Citroens, classic car life is here. Erik Carlsson, Jacques Gerin, Giovanni Michelotti and Innes Ireland are just a few of the names that can be found in these pages. From design to driving, here is a book that is a classic car adventure.</div>

The Classic Car Adventure

<div><B>&ldquo;The Jeep is as iconic a military vehicle as the Chieftain tank, and this terrific book celebrates it in brilliant style . . . inspiring.&rdquo; &mdash;</B><B>Books Monthly</B><BR />  <BR /> The Second World War Jeep was one of the most famous and influential military vehicles of all time, and over 600,000 were produced. It served with all the Allied forces during the war on every front and it has been the inspiration behind the design of light, versatile, rugged military and civilian vehicles ever since. In this, the first volume in Pen &amp; Sword&rsquo;s LandCraft series, Lance Cole traces the design, development and manufacturing history of the Jeep and describes its operational role within the Allied armies.<BR />  <BR /> A selection of archive photographs showing the Jeep in service in European and Pacific campaigns gives a graphic impression of how adaptable the Jeep was and records the variety of equipment it could carry. The book is an excellent source for the modeler, providing details of available kits, together with specially commissioned color profiles recording how the Jeeps used by different units and armies appeared.<BR />  <BR /> Lance Cole&rsquo;s introduction to the Jeep is necessary reading and reference for enthusiasts and modelers.<BR />  <BR /> &ldquo;If you are a modeler looking for guidance and inspiration then this book is a must have. Its pages are packed full of jeep goodness, giving tips and ideas for your build. It is also a great read, or coffee-time browser, if you are a vehicle enthusiast or simply love Willys/Ford jeeps and merely want to stimulate your brain and satisfy your eyes.&rdquo; &mdash;The OCAD Collection</div>

The Jeep

<div><B>This expert volume examines the engineering, design, and modeling of this classic sportscar through the years&mdash;fully illustrated with color photos.  </B><BR />  <BR /> Innovative car designer Ettore Bugatti changed the history of both motorsports and engineering with the legendary T35.  Introduced at the Grand Prix of Lyon in 1924, its clever engine design, new suspension thinking, and distinct body style marked the beginning of a new era in car racing.<BR />  <BR /> Automotive journalist, industrial designer and Bugatti expert Lance Cole pays tribute to this iconic automobile in a detailed yet engaging commentary. Fully illustrated with color photos, this volume chronicles the story of the T35&rsquo;s design and evolution. For the car modeling enthusiast, Cole also details the modeling options in synthetic materials and die cast metals.</div>

Bugatti

<div><B>The author of <I>Classic Car Gallery</I> &ldquo;covers the Jaguar and its various incarnations with lovingly snappy prose . . . to excite the passions of Jaguar-mania&rdquo; (<I>The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society</I>).</B><BR /><BR /> The third book in the new CarCraft series, <I>Jaguar E-Type</I>, frames the legend of what many call the world&rsquo;s most beautiful car design. Sir William Lyons and Malcolm Sayer carved automotive history with this car across its 1960s-1970s incarnations from roadster to coup&eacute; amid the fitting of Straight-Six, to V12 engines.<BR /><BR /> With its new definition of sculptural styling, performance, handling and innovative style, the E-Type or XKE series in the USA, created a car of global impact that remains a great classic of all time.<BR /><BR /> Here, experienced automotive writer, and industrial designer, Lance Cole pays tribute to the car in a detailed yet engaging commentary. New photography, the design story, and full coverage of the modeling options in synthetic materials and die cast metals, create a narrative of vital interest.<BR /><BR /><I>The aim of the innovative CarCraft series is to provide modelmakers and car enthusiasts with a new standard of primarily visual reference of both full-size cars and their scale models. Each book contains detailed technical information imparted through drawings and photographs while the meticulously researched full-color profiles provides a complete reference for paint schemes and markings. In addition, every volume of the CarCraft series features summaries of design histories and operational careers, and reviews of available kits. </I><BR /><BR /><B>&ldquo;This book will be of great interest to modelers planning on doing a Jaguar model and also to car enthusiasts.&rdquo;&mdash;AMPS Indianapolis</B></div>

Jaguar E-Type

<div><B>An enthusiast’s guide to motoring and transport museums in Britain and beyond.</B><br/><br/>Written by experienced automotive expert Lance Cole, this companion guide for car and motorcycle enthusiast covers ninety British motoring and transport museums in depth and over 350 museums worldwide. Included are:<ul><li>Descriptions and photographs</li><li>A comprehensive global museum listing</li><li>Outtakes on visits to selected overseas museums</li><li>A glossary of old car and motorcycle terms and types</li><li>A discussion of motoring museum culture and the history these museums portray</li></ul></div>

Classic Car Museum Guide

<div><B>An extensively illustrated reference to the iconic sports car for enthusiasts and modelers: “Fascinating and impressively informative.” —<I>Midwest Book Review</I></B><br/><br/>The innovative CarCraft series provides modelmakers and car enthusiasts with a new standard of primarily visual reference of both full-size cars and their scale models. Each book contains detailed technical information imparted through drawings and photos while meticulously researched full-color profiles offer a complete reference for paint schemes and markings. In addition, every volume features summaries of design histories and operational careers, and reviews of available kits.<br/><br/>Recognized as one of the most important sports cars in the history of the automobile, Porsche’s 911 represents a vital story in the annals of the design and driving of the motor car. This new book delivers an innovative format to the car enthusiast by covering the engineering, design, and modeling of Porsche’s 911 series.<br/><br/>A true icon, 911 is the designer legend—and a driving tool par excellence: the 911 stemmed from the Porsche 356 yet created a new era and a new international definition of style amid a global motor sport record of success across race and rally events. Experienced automotive writer, industrial designer, and Porsche enthusiast Lance Cole pays tribute to the car in a detailed yet engaging commentary accompanied by new photography, the design story, and full coverage of the modeling options in synthetic materials and die cast metals.</div>

Porsche 911

<div><B>“A comprehensive history of the VC10 . . . enhanced by the fabulous artwork and photographs . . . will take you back to the golden age of jet travel.” —<I>Flight Line Book Review</I></B><br/><br/>Designed and manufactured by the men who would make Concorde, the Rolls-Royce powered Vickers VC10, and its larger variant, the Super VC10, represented the ultimate in 1960s subsonic airliners. The VC10 was Britain’s answer to the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8, but it could take off in a very short distance, climb more steeply, and land at slower speed than its rivals. These were vital safety benefits in the early years of the jet age. At one stage, the Super VC10 was the biggest airliner made in Europe and the fastest in the world.<br/><br/>On entry into service, both the VC10 and the longer Super VC10 carved out a niche with passengers who enjoyed the speed, silence and elegance of the airliner. Pilots, meanwhile, loved its ease of flying and extra power. Yet the VC10 project was embroiled in machinations across many years and more than one government. Questions were asked in parliament and the whole story was enmeshed in a political and corporate affair that signified the end of British big airliner production. Yet the men who made the VC10 also went on to design and build Concorde. Many VC10 pilots became Concorde pilots.<br/><br/>In service until the 1980s with British Airways, and until 2013 with the RAF, the VC10 became a British icon and a national hero, one only eclipsed by Concorde. It retains a place in the hearts and minds of enthusiasts the world over.<br/><br/><B>“A good one-stop reference to the VC10.” —<I>Scale Aviation Modeller International</I></B></div>

Vickers VC10

<div><B>A history of the British automotive manufacturer and an analysis of what went wrong.</B><br/><br/>What really happened at British Leyland (BL)? Was it ‘just’ the cars, or were other factors vital to the story? Who really was to blame for BL and MG Rover’s death?<br/><br/>The ‘truth’ about BL is deeper than its cars – were ultra- Left-wing plots to topple BL and British society real? Did secret deals and political intrigue really exist? Was it Labour or Conservative powers who ‘killed’ BL, or was it BL itself? How was it that BL’s design genius was hobbled?<br/><br/>Author Lance Cole lifts the bonnet on BL and presents a forensic yet easy to read new analysis in a story of BL, its cars, and the era of their motoring as powers on the political Left and Right waged war, sometimes even with themselves.<br/><br/>Here is a book about cars and more, a conversation on all things BL: this is a new account of a classic British story told across a trail of evidence in a British industrial and political drama.<br/><br/>Many mistakes made BL, but some of the cars were superb, the designs of genius, the engineering excellent; it is just that we have either forgotten, or been brainwashed into believing the worst.<br/><br/>In a BL book like no other, written by a classic car fanatic with a background in industrial design, automotive, and wider journalism, this story lifts the lid on BL's cars and more. The author also adds inside knowledge from time working in the motor industry.<br/><br/>Lance Cole tells the deeper BL story across the era of its greatest successes and its biggest failures.<br/><br/><B>“An important and overdue book, well researched which will find a welcome place on the shelves of transport academics and motoring aficionados alike.” —<I>The Journal of the Road Transport History Association</I></B><br/><br/><B>“Cole’s engaging and informal writing style makes things very readable and helps us untangle a lot of the more complex shenanigans that went on. With fifty colour and fifty monochrome pictures, it’s well-illustrated too. Thoroughly recommended for its astute insight whether you’re a BL fan or not.” —<I>Car Mechanics</I></B></div>

British Leyland—From Triumph to Tragedy

<div>Launched in 1955 yet looking like a sci-fi design proposal for a future then undreamed of, Flaminio Bertoni's ellipsoid sculpture with wheels that was the Citroën DS stunned the world.  There was a near riot at the 1955 Paris Motor Show launch of the car, orders flooded in for this, the new 'big Citroën' (a Voiture a Grande Diffusion or VGD) as the car that replaced the legendary Traction Avant range.  The term 'DS' stems from two Citroën parts of nomenclature - the type of engine used as the 11D, (D) and the special hemispherical design of the cylinder head as 'Culasse Special' (S): DS out of 'Deesse' or Goddess, was a more popular myth of ' DS' origination, but an erroneous one.  But it was not just the car's aerodynamically advanced body shape (Cd. 0.37) that framed the genius of the DS: hydro pneumatic self-levelling suspension, advanced plastics and synthetics for the construction of the roof and dashboard/fascia, and amazing road holding and cabin comfort were some of this car's highlights.  Only the lack of an advanced new engine was deemed a missed opportunity. In fact Citroën had created a new engine for the car but lacked the resources to produce it in time for 1955.  DS was a major moment in the history of car design, one so advanced that it would take other auto manufacturers years to embrace. Yet DS in its 'aero' design was the precursor to today’s low drag cars of curved form.  Manufactured worldwide, used by presidents, leaders, diplomats, farmers and many types of people, the DS redefined Citroën, its engineering and design language, and its brand, for decades to come.  Prone to rust, not the safest car in the world, and always lacking a smoother powerplant, the DS still became an icon of car design.  Reshaped with a new nose and faired-in headlamps in 1967, DS remained in production until 1975.  Across its life DS spawned an estate car variant as the 'Safari', a range of limousines, two-door convertibles, and even coach-built coupes and rally specials.  This car was a product design that became an article of social science - it was that famous and it defined a European design movement upon a global stage then packed with 'me too' copyist designs.  The DS or 'Goddess' as it was tagged, was a tear-drop shaped act of French confidence in a world of the regurgitation of the known. Some argue that DS and its effect has never been surpassed.  This new value-for-money book provides innovative access to the design, history, and modeling of the revolutionary DS - one of the true 'greats' of motoring history and, a contemporary classic car of huge popularity.</div>

Citroen DS

<div><B>A celebration of the life and times of the iconic jet known as the “Queen of the Skies”.</B><br/><br/>Boeing’s 747 ‘heavy’ has achieved a fifty-year reign of the airways, but now airlines are retiring their fleets as a different type of long-haul airliner emerges. Yet the ultimate development of the 747, the -800 model, will ply the airways for many years to come.<br/><br/>Even as twin-engine airliners increasingly dominate long-haul operations and the story of the four-engine Airbus A380 slows, the world is still a different place thanks to the great gamble that Boeing took with its 747. From early, difficult days designing and proving the world’s biggest-ever airliner, the 747 has grown into a 400-ton leviathan capable of encircling the world. Boeing took a massive billion-dollar gamble and won.<br/><br/>Taking its maiden flight in February 1969, designing and building the 747 was a huge challenge and involved new fields of aerospace technology. Multiple fail-safe systems were designed, and problems developing the engines put the whole programme at risk. Yet the issues were solved and the 747 flew like a dream said pilots—belying its size and sheer scale.<br/><br/>With its distinctive hump and an extended upper-deck allied to airframe, avionics and engine developments, 747 became both a blue-riband airliner and, a mass-economy class travel device. Fitted with ultra-efficient Rolls-Royce engines, 747s became long-haul champions all over the world, notably on Pacific routes. across the Atlantic in January 1970, 747 became the must-have, four-engine, long haul airframe. Japan Airlines, for example, operated over sixty 747s in the world’s biggest 747 fleet.<br/><br/>By the renowned aviation author Lance Cole, this book provides a detailed yet engaging commentary on the design, engineering and operating life and times of civil aviation’s greatest sub-sonic achievement.</div>

Boeing 747

<div><P><B>A photographic tribute to the history of the classic Swedish automobile.</B><BR /><BR /> Saab has gone, but its cars and its loyal band of owners remain. In this photographic album, internationally known Saab author and commentator Lance Cole celebrates all things Saab.<BR /><BR /> In a collection of over 200 photographic images accompanied by a detailed yet engaging commentary, the book delivers a record of Saab from its first car to its last. The engineering, design, and ethos of Saab&#39;s cars across the generations are captured in all their glory.<BR /><BR /> The author of many Saab articles and several Saab books, this is Lance Cole&rsquo;s new view on Sweden&rsquo;s other car maker&mdash;one that really did build cars to a different standard.<BR /><BR /><I>Saab Celebration</I> is designed to be a memorial companion for the Saab fan. If you like Saabs, then enjoy this tribute to all things Saab.<BR /><BR /><B>Praise for <I>Saab Celebration</I><BR /><BR /> &ldquo;Lance Cole&rsquo;s knowledge and enthusiasm for Saab&rsquo;s history is impressive and somewhat contagious.&rdquo; &mdash;Vintage Airfix<BR /><BR /> &ldquo;If you are looking for an automotive pick-me-up on these cold; damp and long winter nights, then <I>Saab Celebration</I> should be at the top of your list. It is a fitting, and heartfelt tribute to the erstwhile, and much-lamented marque. I enjoyed reading it, and I am confident that you will too.&rdquo; &mdash;Donna&rsquo;s Book Blog</B></P></div>

Saab Celebration

<div>In a book of Porsche photography and engaging conversation, Lance Cole journeys through a personal passion for Porsche –one that many supercar enthusiasts share.  Herein light falls on sculpted metal and paint – shiny and less shiny. Throwing off the conventions of Porsche purism, yet at the same time always respecting the origins of Porsche, and the status of the 911, this is a book that celebrates the engineering and the design language of Porsche amid its culture. From an “oily-rag” 356 to old 911s and new 911s, with a brief alighting upon other cars of the Porsche clan, this is an eclectic collection of enthusiasts “moments” captured across a British Porsche landscape.</div>

Lance Cole
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Books By Lance Cole (17 Books)