Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Shadow: The Magnificent Machines of a Man of Mystery Author: Pete Lyons Published by: Evro Publishing 464 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-910 505-49- Price: £75 / $90 The man of mystery is of course Don Nichols whose dramatic looking Shadow racers were such a feature of Formula 1 and the Can Am series in the 1970s. Born in 1924, Nichols was old … [Read more...]
Features by Kieron Fennelly
For Your Bookshelf: Mes Années Matra
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Mes Années Matra Author: Bruno Morin Published by: L’Autodrome Editions 127 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-2-910434-64-9 Price: €39 In 1967 engineer and racing enthusiast Bruno Morin left Thomson and took a substantial pay cut to join Matra’s racing division. He sought adventure and was not disappointed. Beginning as a chassis engineer calculating … [Read more...]
SEAT Leon FR – Road Test
SEAT’s sporty FR version of the Leon… …Tried and test-driven by Kieron Fennelly. This the fourth edition of model which has been central to the SEAT range since 1999. Differences between this Leon and its immediate successor are largely aesthetic, although the 2020 model does have a 9 cm (3.54 in) longer wheelbase, the kind of development possible with VW’s clever modular chassis, which also … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf: Ferrari 857S – The remarkable history of 0578M
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Ferrari 857S – The remarkable history of 0578M Author: Ian Wagstaff Published by: Porter Press International Ltd. www.porterpress.co.uk 128 pages; hardback ISBN: 978-1-913089-08-5 £30 Fifties and sixties sports cars, especially Ferraris, exert an enduring fascination. Volume nine in Porter Press’s Exceptional Cars series deals with the … [Read more...]
For Your Bookshelf – The All-American Hero and Jaguar’s Racing E-types
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: The All-American Hero and Jaguar’s Racing E types Author: Phillip Bingham Published by: Porter Press International Ltd. www.porterpress.co.uk 287 pages; hardback Price: £60.00 ISBN: 978-1-907085-01-9 The subtitle of this work, 'Briggs Cunningham’s Le Mans dream' reflects the ambition of one (very) rich American enthusiast to win Le Mans with … [Read more...]
Book Review – Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé
Book Review – Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé – The Autobiography of CSX 2300 …Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé Author: Rinsey Mills Published by: Porter Press International Ltd. www.porterpress.com 336 pages; hardback Price: £60.00 ISBN: 978-1-907085-42-0 This is a mighty tome, entirely appropriate though for what was a mighty if … [Read more...]
Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.0 – Road Test
Kieron Fennelly test drives Alfa’s Giulia saloon – practical but with a sporty heart beating beneath its suave exterior… One of the earliest and most revered names in the auto industry, Alfa Romeo was founded in 1910. Its halcyon days were the pre-and post-war periods when it dominated European motor racing. Aided by Italian styling houses, the company produced some of the most attractive cars of … [Read more...]
Book Review – An English Car Designer Abroad
Book Review – An English Car Designer Abroad... ...Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Title: An English Car Designer Abroad Author: Peter Birtwhistle Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd. www.veloce.co.uk 256 pages; hardback Price: £37.50 ISBN: 978-1-787114-70-8 Peter Birtwhistle managed what many young men aspire to, but few achieve – to become a car designer. An RCA graduate, … [Read more...]
Mazda CX-30 SkyActiv – First Impressions
Kieron Fennelly puts the CX 30 through its paces – and describes its clever, innovative SkyActiv engine… Mazda is one of the smaller manufacturers, rather like Volvo. However, unlike the Swedish company which is part of the Chinese concern Geely, Mazda continues to plough an independent furrow. For many years, Ford was a major shareholder, but Dearborn gave up its 33% in 2010 when it also sold … [Read more...]
Vauxhall Astra Mk 7 1.2 petrol – First Impressions
Kieron Fennelly drives, and gives his views on, the latest Astra, in 1.2 litre petrol form… In 2019 Vauxhall/Opel’s Astra celebrated its 40th birthday (and Kim adds that he was at the UK launch of the Opel version, at Donington Park in the autumn of 1979, and remembers just how much the attending motoring writers were impressed with the new model). Many readers might recall the original Mk 1 … [Read more...]
Ferdinand Piëch: 1937-2019
Ferdinand Piëch: 1937-2019. Kieron Fennelly looks back at an extraordinary and crucially important career in the motor industry… Ferdinand Piëch died suddenly on August 25th. Once the most powerful man in the auto industry, he was also instrumental in the early development of the Porsche 911 and on more than one occasion, its reprieve. From his earliest days where he worked with Hans Mezger … [Read more...]
Book review – Triumph Cars – The Complete Story (New Third Edition)
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly Title: Triumph Cars – The Complete Story (New Third Edition) Author: Graham Robson/Richard M Langworth Published by: Veloce; Veloce.co.uk 256 pages; hardback Price: £40 UK; $65US ISBN: 978-1-787112-89-6 The Triumph story, as this book shows, goes back as far as the nineteenth century and bicycles, later succeeded by the motorcycles for which the … [Read more...]
Book review – MGB – The Illustrated History
MGB – The Illustrated History (4th edition). Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Authors: Jonanthan Wood/Lionel Burrell Published by: Veloce; veloce.co.uk 248 pages; hardback Price: £35 UK; $50 US ISBN: 978-1-787113-62-6 Over half a million MGBs were built during the model’s eighteen year life and the rorty MG remains one of the most popular and useable of classic cars. Veloce’s reprint … [Read more...]
Book review – Land Rover Design – 70 Years of Success
Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Land Rover Design – 70 Years of Success Author: Nick Hull Published by: Veloce; veloce.co.uk 240 pages; hardback Price: £50 UK; $80 US ISBN: 978-1-845849-87-0 There are many technical and historical books about the ubiquitous Land Rover, but Nick Hull takes a different approach, celebrating its seventieth birthday by charting its styling … [Read more...]
Book Review – Schlumpf
Schlumpf – a new book reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Schlumpf The intrigue behind the world’s most beautiful car collection Author: Arnoud & Ard op de Weegh Published by: Veloce Publishers www.veloce.co.uk 160 pages; hardback Price: £35 UK; $60 USA. ISBN: 978-1-787113-09-1 The authors, Dutch father and son enthusiasts, set out to correct versions of the so-called … [Read more...]
Book Review – The Perfect Car
The Perfect Car... Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: The Perfect Car (The Biography of John Barnard) Author: Nick Skeens Published by: Evro Publishing www.evropublishing.com 591 pages; hardback Price: £40 UK; $60 USA. ISBN: 978-1-910505-27-4 John Barnard’s remarkable design career encompassed two periods at McLaren, plus two stints at Ferrari as well as working for the Americans Parnelli … [Read more...]
Book Review – Derek Bell: All My Porsche Races
Book Review – Derek Bell: All My Porsche Races. Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: All My Porsche Races Author: Derek Bell and Richard Heseltine Published by: Porter Press International: https://porterpress.co.uk/ (...and signed by Derek Bell if purchased direct). 304 pages; hardback Price: £45.00 UK ISBN: 978-1-907085-65-9 Derek Bell’s long career divides into two parts: … [Read more...]
Book Review – Racing Colours (Motor racing compositions 1908-2009).
Book Review – Racing Colours (Motor racing compositions 1908-2009). Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: Racing Colours (Motor racing compositions 1908-2009). Author: Simon Owen Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd; www.veloce.co.uk 188 pages; hardback Price: £14.99 UK; $24.95 USA. ISBN: 978-1-787111-94-3 Musician and artist, Simon Owen’s penchant for painting racing cars dates … [Read more...]
Book Review – The Good, the Mad and the Ugly
Book Review – The Good, the Mad and the Ugly. Reviewed by Kieron Fennelly. Title: The Good, the Mad and the Ugly Author: Peter Dron Published by: Veloce Publishing Ltd; www.veloce.co.uk 256 pages; hardback Price: £14.99 UK; $24.95 USA. ISBN: 978-1-787111-84-4 The author looks back over 40 years’ motoring journalism and reflects, hardly surprisingly that that fings ain’t what … [Read more...]
Audi Q2 1.0 TFSI – Road Test
Kieron Fennelly assesses Audi’s compact SUV, in three cylinder 1.0 litre form… It has become almost impossible to keep up with the range of Audis now available – the company currently offers no fewer than 53 models in Britain and says it will launch 21 new models in the next couple of years. A much faster rate, it claims that its rivals at Mercedes and BMW. It has also gone from 0.5% of the UK … [Read more...]
