Writer and racer Mark Hales and musician and arch-enthusiast Nick Mason took three years to create Into The Red. Beautifully illustrated with some superb action photography, it is a book which captures the power, the exhilaration and the feel of cars which were driven by some of the world’s greatest racing drivers.
Writer and racer Mark Hales and musician and arch-enthusiast Nick Mason took three years to create Into The Red. Beautifully illustrated with some superb action photography, it is a book which captures the power, the exhilaration and the feel of cars which were driven by some of the world’s greatest racing drivers. The list is as diverse as it is impressive and one which spans most of the last century; what Ferenc Szisz might have felt from the lofty perch of a 1901 Panhard is probably less dramatic than that available from a Porsche 962 in 1990 but it is no less interesting and certainly no less exclusive.
Into the Red pushes all these cars to the limit once again, sitting you in the passenger seat for a memorable ride round Silverstone.
Some of Into the Red’s subjects are incredibly fast: the powerhouse Porsche 935 turbo of 1978, the limited edition 6-litre McLaren F1 of 1995. Some extremely rare: the legendary V16 BRM of 1953 is one of only three known to exist. Some unfeasibly expensive: the 1962 Ferrari 250GTO had a value of £10 million at its peak during the profligate late ‘80s. And others are all-time classics, including the Bugatti T35B of 1927, the Maserati 250F of 1957, and the Ferrari 312T3 that carried Canadian Gilles Villeneuve to victory in his home Grand Prix in 1978.
Mark Hales details the distinctive sensations, sounds and vibrations of each car’s progress, down to the feel of the wheel, the snick of the gears and the response of the brakes. Nick Mason gives a personal view of the history and heritage of each model, together with a witty and self-deprecating inside account of the ups and downs of collecting classic cars.
The book also includes a CD of sound recordings made during the creation of Into The Red, providing a unique additional sense of what it is to experience these cars. Once heard, the sound of a BRM V16 is never forgotten…
The third edition with two new chapters describing the Ferrari F60 "Enzo" and the delightful Alfa TZ customer Le Mans race car - and complete with CD of audio sounds of all the cars – will be published by Carlton Books later this year.
Mark has a small number of Limited Editions available. These are remaining from the original batch and are personalised with leather jacket and individual, numbered chassis plate. Signed by both authors and complete with extra notes inside. Contact Mark for details.