Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #243150 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Petrolheads sit back, hold tight and let your minds go to into overdrive as Into the Red takes you on a breathtaking journey of motor sport at breakneck speed.

The idea of driving 21 of the most influential racing cars around a circuit is a magical one, and the way in which Nick Mason and Mark Hales relay the thrills and drama is spell-binding.

Almost 100 years of auto history is detailed, starting with the 1901 Panhard B1, with wind-up handles and leather seats, through to the high-tech dashboard and awesome power of the 1990 Porsche 962.

Among the marques that are put through their paces are Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus and Maserati.

The love, expertise and knowledge of Mason and Hales is a winning combination that brings every page to life. Action-packed colour photographs capture the mood and feeling and the reader is given a brief history of each car and its contribution to the development of the sport.

Statisticians aren't forgotten, either, with acceleration and lap times as well as technical data also charted. But not only is the reader treated to pictures and words--the whole dream is brought to life by a CD which accompanies the book, capturing every note of the highly tuned engine moving up and down the scale.

Synopsis
Nick Mason has had a lifelong passion for motor racing. The sports and racing cars he's chosen to own form a unique stable, not just because of their diversity, but because every car is meant to be driven, and driven hard. These are not museum pieces sitting tamely in glass cases. With test driver Mark Hales, Nick Mason has pushed twenty-two of his cars to the limit and created Into The Red, a book which captures the power, the exhilaration and the feel of the actual cars driven by the worlds greatest racing drivers, including Enzo Ferrari, Stirling Moss, Jacky Ickx and Mario Andretti. Some are incredibly fast: the powerhouse Porsche 935, the limited edition McLaren F1. Some extremely rare: the legendary V16 BRM is one of only three known to exist. Some highly expensive: the Ferrari 250GTO had a value of GBP10 million at its peak. And others are all-time classics, including the Bugatti T35B, the Maserati 250F, and the Ferrari T3 that brought Gilles Villeneuve victory in the 1978 Montreal Grand Prix. But although their past is what makes the cars so special, each car has been put through the same demanding test sequence at Silverstone, using the latest equipment, no quarter given.

The results are often surprising. Mark Hales details the distinctive sensations, sounds and vibrations of each car's handling ability, down to the feel of the gears and the response of the brakes. Nick Mason gives his personal view of the history and heritage of each model, with the inside track on the ups and downs of collecting classic cars.

About the Author
Nick Mason inherited his lifelong interest in motor sport form his father, the documentary film-maker Bill Mason. When Pink Floyd duties allow, Nick is able to swap the drumming stool for the driversw seat, and has raced regularly for over 25 years, including competing in five Le Mans races.
Mark Hales has been competing in motor sport for over 30 years at all levels from Touring Cars and GTs to historic cars like those in this book. As a writer he contributes to a wide range of news-stand publications, including the Daily Telegraph, EVO and Octane, and continues to drive and evaluate some of the world's fastest and most exotic road cars.

Customer Reviews

THE BEST BOOK EVER
This superbly written and illustrated hard covered book is nothing short of sensational.It has 176 pages and many extremely high quality colour photographs as well as a compact disk that provides sounds of all but four of the cars.

Nick Mason has to be congratulated on his purchase of some of the greatest cars to ever grace racing circuits(yes he is of Pink Floyd fame).

With the calibre of vehicles such as Porsche 962, Ferrari 512S and 312 T3 F1 car, Bugatti T35B, 250F Maserati and not to mention the V16 BRM, oooohhh the BRM), just to name a few.

Lock yourself in your favourite room, turn off the phone, crank up the stereo then close your eyes and immerse yourself in aural heaven.

I can gaurantee if my house ever caught fire this would be the first thing to be tucked under my arm on the way out.

For every true petrol-head
Wonderful pictures and sounds of wonderfull cars. Well worth buying if you're a fan of classic cars.

Into the red my favorite book
I think the book is amazing,i am into cars and into the red!!I rate it five crowns because the book has every thing you need.But the special thing about it is the CD!!!The writer describes it very well,and if any body asks me what is my favorite book I will say "into the red"