Great Cars

The VW Beetle is simply the best-known and most-loved car in the history of the motor car. Amazingly, some of the earliest Beetles, now seven decades old, are still on the road, while more recent examples, particularly the classics from the late 1950s and '60s are many an enthusiast's pride and joy. Created through the ingenuity of Ferdinand Porsche, brought to the brink of series production by Hitler's Nazis and rescued from oblivion by the British after the war, the Beetle soon developed into a phenomenon under the guardianship of Heinz Nordhoff, the VW boss for two decades. Overwhelmingly successful in over 150 countries across the world, most notably in the USA; when the car finally fell from grace in Europe after Nordhoff's death, it was destined to enjoy a revitalised and lengthy swansong in South America. The legendary Beetle's intriguing story is unravelled in this fascinating and handsome book.

The Triumph TR range is amongst the most popular of classic British sports cars on both sides of the Atlantic. "TRIUMPH TR - TR2 to 6: The last of the traditional sports cars", as the title suggests, covers the cars from the basic four-cylinder TR2 introduced in 1953 to the hairy-chested six-cylinder TR6 that finally bowed out of production in 1975, to be replaced by the unloved TR7. The previous edition of this popular book was well received, and had the following five star review published on Amazon.com: "You can't go wrong buying a book from this author. I admit, I am a junkie for little British car books and this guy is up there with the other experts like Terry Horler on MG Midgets and Clausager on MGB's and Austin Healeys. Bill Piggott also has a book out on big Healeys ... A lot about Triumph TR and it's racing heritage is covered in this book and more pages devoted to the early TR's (2 and 3) than the six. Still, a very good read with lots of pictures ... from early dealer brochures to rally shots from across the pond. If you own a TR, you will want this book." (Written by Dennis Silance)

A welcome addition to the Great Cars Series, this volume focuses on the Jaguar XK 120, 140 and 150 model ranges. The XK120 established Jaguar as a world-renowned marque, providing a remarkable combination of style, world-beating performance and innovative engineering, and the subsequent XK-40 and XK150 maintained Jaguar's position as a leading sports car manufacturer. With the aid of archive images and stunning studio photography, respected Jaguar historian Nigel Thorley tells the story of these classic cars.