HAND-SIGNED COLLECTORS CAR BOOK

TITLE: RIVALS - LANCIA D50 & MERCEDES-BENZ W196

SIGNED BY: CHRIS NIXON (AUTHOR)

PUBLICATION YEAR/ DATE: 1999 (1st LIMITED EDITION)

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LIMITED EDITION: YES - OF JUST 75 NUMBERED EXAMPLES

COVER TYPE: HARDBACK PUBLISHED WITHOUT DUST JACKET, PRESENTED IN A SLIPCASE

SIZE & # OF PAGES: 30.5CM x 24.5CM - 212 PAGES

PUBLISHER & AUTHOR: TRANSPORT BOOKMAN PUBLICATIONS - CHRIS NIXON

CONDITION: SUPERB FOR AGE, GREAT FOR YEAR 8 OUT OF 10 - DUE TO AGE AND STORAGE THE AUTHORS & PUBLISHER NAME IN BLACK TEXT ON SPINE HAS STARTED TO RUB; A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITH THESE. IN ADDITION THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MARKS TO SLIPCASE AS EXPECTED

Detailed Item Description:

THIS EXTREMELY RARE TITLE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE BOOK TITLED "RIVALS - LANCIA D50 & MERCEDES W196" WRITTEN BY THE LATE-GREAT MOTORING AUTHOR CHRIS NIXON. HOWEVER THIS IS THE LIMITED EDTION OF WHICH ONLY 75 WERE PRODUCED, EACH SIGNED & NUMBERED BY THE CHRIS NIXON HIMSELF!

RIVALS, IS THE STORY OF WHAT ARE PERHAPS THE BEST AND LEAST KNOWN GRAND PRIX CARS OF ALL: THE MERCEDES-BENZ W196 AND THE LANCIA D50. THE W196 IS AN ICON OF RACING CAR DESIGN, RIGHTLY REMEMBERED AS ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND SUCCESSFUL GP CARS OF ALL TIME, WINNING ALL BUT THREE OF THE 12 GRANDES EPREUVES IT ENTERED. IN TRUTH THE D50 WAS EVEN MORE INNOVATIVE, BUT IT ACHIEVED NO REAL SUCCESS, LARGELY DUE THE FAILURE OF THE LANCIA COMPANY IN 1955. THE MERCEDES ARE STILL WELL KNOWN BECAUSE DAIMLER-BENZ RETIRED THEM TO THEIR SUPERB MUSEUM AND THEY ARE FREQUENTLY SHOWN AND DEMONSTRATED AROUND THE WORLD. NOT SO THE LANCIAS. FOLLOWING THE COLLAPSE OF THE COMPANY, SIX OF THESE FINE CARS WERE GIVEN TO SCUDERIA FERRARI AND SUFFERED THE HUMILIATION OF BEING SYSTEMATICALLY DEPRIVED OF THEIR INNOVATIONS AND TURNED INTO SOMETHING BLAND, BORING AND THOROUGHLY UNCOMPETITIVE. AS A RESULT, THE D50 BECAME A FORGOTTEN CAR OF GRAND PRIX RACING, A FATE THAT IS UNJUST, TO SAY THE LEAST. FORTUNATELY, TWO CARS WERE RETAINED BY LANCIA AND SURVIVE INTACT. WITH THEIR PANNIER FUEL TANKS BETWEEN THE WHEELS, THE D50S ARE EVERY BIT AS EXCITING TO LOOK AT AS THE W196 STREAMLINERS, AND THE TWO RIVALS - ONE RED AND THE OTHER SILVER - ARE, WITHOUT DOUBT, TWO OF THE MOST CHARISMATIC RACING CARS EVER TO TAKE TO THE CIRCUITS. THE TWO MARQUES SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOCKED IN COMBAT - DRIVEN BY WORLD CHAMPIONS ALBERTO ASCARI AND JUAN MANUEL FANGIO - THROUGHOUT 1954-55, BUT, SADLY, THAT WAS NOT TO BE. THEIR STORY IS A COMPELLING ONE, NONETHELESS, AND - ILLUSTRATED WITH ALMOST 200 LARGELY UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHS - IS TOLD HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME BY CHRIS NIXON.

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