Historic Racing Technology
'As with the Porsche 917 book, the Ferrari 250 GT is in the same Great Car Series and so focuses on just one specific car. At the same time, though, it encompasses so much more,...
...'As with the Porsche 917 book, if you are into Ferraris, specifically the 250 GT, then this book has to be for you.'
Auto Express, October 2015
'This book tells the story of an iconic Ferrari - the 250 GT Short Wheelbase. From its inception with Stirling Moss, the greatest driver of the day, the car combined a beautiful body with a V12 engine and became one of the most revered Ferraris of all-time. The book includes interesting correspondence from Ferrari's archives, along with never-before-seen pictures of the car in its early days. A good read for any Ferrari fan.'
Classic & Sports Car, December 2015
'The titles in the Porter Press' Great Cars series are coming thick and fast. Number four focuses on the legendary Ferrari 250GT SWB chassis '2119 GT', which Stirling Moss drove to a dominant victory in the 1960 Tourist Trophy at Goodwood. Few know more about this great Ferrari than historian Doug Nye, who drove it extensively during Paul Vestry's 17-year ownership. Moss' racers are covered in depth, with 23 pages on the TT, including the memories of Rob Walker team mechanic Tony Cleverley. Later drives with Mike Parkes and Jack Sears are also highlighted, as well as owners from Gerry Crozier through to Ross Brawn. Studio pictures by James Mann complete the tome, but the concept feels a little stretched at times with career reviews of all involved, including 12 pages on Brawn's racing life.' MW
Motorsport, January 2016
...'Every aspect surrounding 2119GT gets this detailed attention, backed by lavish photography, period programmes and adverts to enliven the pages.
...'but Brawn's insight into both design and ownership of this wonderful car is a unique bonus.' GC
Jersey Evening Post, November 2015
'This superb book tells the story of the finest example of a glorious breed of Ferrari, the 250 GT Short Wheelbase. A great engine with a fine chassis and beautiful body, it became one of the most revered Ferraris. This book provides detailed insight into the race when Stirling Moss drove to victory in the Goodwood Tourist Trophy of 1960.'
Ferrari Owners Club Magazine, December 2015
...'This book cleverly retains the reader's attention by exploiting the many facets of the car's life and its association with the drivers, team owners, races and circuits of the time through which it made its name.
...'His insight into F1 and in a later chapter, the importance of component design in racing cars, is probably alone worth the cost of the book. And that's without the superbly reproduced period photographs throughout.
...'Thoroughly recommended.' DSC
Classic & Sports Car, February 2016. Interview with Ross Brawn, paragraph concerning book quoted here
This interest in tracing the car’s past life led to Brawn collaborating with Doug Nye on The Autobiography of2119GT: ‘I have known Philip Porter for some time. He has intervied me several times regardeing my involvement with the Jaguar Group C programme. During one of our chats, Philip told me about the Great Cars series. The idea started to germinate and the result is this book. I was really chuffed when Doug agreed to write it. I like his style of journalism and admire how thorough he is. If you want to know something about motorsport history, Doug will probably have the answer. What’s more, he always tells a story in an entertaining way.’
Warming to the theme, he adds: ‘Doug teased stuff out of me that I found fascinating. I was asked to write a few chapters and one of them concerns how the car might have been designed had today’s approaches and technology been available. That got me thinking about what we nowadays take for granted in terms of the design process. Thanks to data acquisition, simulation tools etc, we have access to a lot more information than was available back then. Even at the beginning of my motor-racing career, that sort of thing was empirical and intuitive.’
Octane, July 2016
'Author Doug Nye claims in his introduction that this story of chassis 2119 GT virtually wrote itself. Well, if that's the case, it did a bloody good job of it.
...'Brawn, Nye and Porter Press have produced something special here, a record not only of a car but also of a wonderful era in motor racing.' DL