Product Description

Few names in the automobile industry evoke as much glamour as Ferrari. From its inception as a motor racing team in the late 1920s to its position today as one of the world s leading car manufacturers, Ferrari has produced some of the most alluring and iconic machines ever to grace both the racetrack and the road. Ferrari Legends presents 40 of the most remarkable and significant Ferraris from the marque's history. Featuring an engaging study of the company's origins and development, concise descriptions of each car s background, design and performance, and unrivalled images by one of the world s foremost car photographers, this book is a spectacular celebration of the passion and brilliance behind this coveted marque.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #306931 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
'all the best Ferraris, from the early days to modern masterpieces. The photography is magnificent, making the book a natural for any car lover's coffee table.' --Choice Magazine, Saturday 1, November 2008

'beautiful studio photos of 40 landmark Ferraris accompanied by informative text.' --Classic Monthly, Thursday 1, January 2009

'Chock full of Zumbrunn's stunning photography, this weighty book is a thing of beauty.' --Auto Express, 10-16 December

About the Author
Michel Zumbrunn is one of the world's most celebrated car photographers. For more than 40 years his work has been featured in car magazines worldwide. Richard Heseltine is a journalist and author specializing in classic and contemporary sports and exotic cars. His work has appeared in such publications as Classic & Sports Car, Motor Sport, Octane, Autocar and The Guardian.

Customer Reviews

Impression of the book 'ferrari legends'
This is a great collection of stunning photographs, i agree with the other review in places, and the choices are occasionally surprising (348 instead of 348, discussion of how nice the 456 is, but no real place for it). the bias is towards older machinery: 1960's and earlier, but I can't stress enough how stunning the photography generally is. if they did another one of these (it's hard to imagine what they would put in it exactly, because there are an awful lot of ferraris) i would certainly buy it. in terms of informative text, well, its little brief, it's not all-fulfilling, but generally there is info on the actual car featured, plus the historic background. If youre an expert, this probably won't teach you much you don't already know, but if you're an aesthete and you appreciate ferrari, this is an essential purchase.

Ferrari Legends
Well, this book is a bit of a conundrum. First impressions are good. It's large format (12" x 10" landscape), 288 pages and hundreds of full colour photos. It is basically a photographic record of (quote) "40 of the most remarkable and significant Ferraris from the marques history". (/quote) Except it isn't - but more on that later.
As a mainly photographic book it looks extremely good. Each car was obviously photographed in a studio where the utmost care with lighting and focus has been taken. Although the black backgrounds might not be to everyone's taste, it provides an excellent contrast to the cars, and even black cars stand out. This is because the lighting is used so effectively; the lines and shape of each car are clear and vivid, so that each can be appreciated. I particularly like the 1959 400SA Cabriolet, and the Ghia bodied 375MM. Thankfully most of the photos are large size and it is easy to admire the detail in the engine and interior photos. I certainly noticed features on these cars that I'd not observed before. So, initial impressions are that this is a really nice book.
But the cunundrum? The choice of cars. It starts off well with the 1948 166SC, and includes variations on the 375 theme including many of the one-off special bodied cars, then moves on to numerous examples of the legendary 250 series, to the 275 and Daytonas etc. But does a 330P4 replica belong in a book like this? Not in my opinion. A 330P3 or a 412P would have been acceptable, but a replica - even with a Ferrari engine? Also, why feature a Koenigised BB? Surely it can't have been too difficult to find a standard BB, especially as one of the captions says "the Berlinetta Boxer was achingly beautiful in standard form", and then show a modified version - strange.
The other strange thing is that the cars that are featured end with the 1989 348, with the exception of the F50 and the Enzo. So, only 2 cars in the last 20 years are worth featuring? Most Ferraristi could make a strong case for the 360, 430 and/or the 456 and 599.
So definitely a conundrum. Beautiful photos but an eccentric choice of tipos.