Product Description

With its highly readable text and stunning illustrations, this masterpiece of a book tells the story of the creation, evolution and exploitation of the V12 engine. From the big American V12s of the early 1900s to today's Aston Martin Vanquish V12, these glorious engines have been revered as more than just feats of engineering; in many cases they are respected as works of art. Her is an insightful, analytical and technical history of the V12 engines that have powered some of the most exciting and framatic cars ever built for road or track.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #402722 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

About the Author
Karl Ludvigsen is a former Vice President of Ford of Europe for whom he managed the development and manufacture of racing cars and engines. He is the author of Haynes' acclaimed Classic Racing Engines. He lives near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk.

Customer Reviews

Vintage Ludvigsen
To call Mr Ludvigsen a prolific author on the subject of racing and high performance vehicles and their famous racing drivers for well over 30 years would certainly be no exageration. I have many of his books in my library but this latest volume is extraordinary both in the completenes of its content and in the lavishness of its production by Haynes. The incredible detail in which he deals with each engine design together with the numerous superb drawings and photographs is simply stunning, if he has missed any significant V12 engine I would be most surprised. For anyone with any serious interest in the past 100 years of the internal combustion piston engine, even though it is confined to the V12 of the species (the W12 and broad arrow layouts are also covered), this sumptuous publication is an absolute must.

Exhaustive but not Exhausting
This masterwork examines the history and features of every automotive engine of V12 configuration; beginning with the first such (built by the Putney Motor Works in 1904 for marine racing) it runs all the way to that which powered the 2004 Maserati MC12. Both road and racing V12s are covered. The technical discussion of each engine is considerable, yet is written in the same clear and consistent prose for which the author is so well known. Biographical detail of the engines' designers and backers is also included, rounding out the history and keeping the reader from becoming swamped by technical data. Ample photographs and drawings illuminate the text, though one always wishes for more colour plates. This reviewer would have preferred a slight shift of emphasis away from racing towards road engines but one supposes these would not have maintained the author's own interest. Not a book for the non-technically minded but simply wonderful for those who are.