choosing books to give at Christmas

In recent weeks, dozens of books have appeared in bookstores. Proof that the automotive subject continues to fascinate. A few hours from the Christmas celebration, here is a selection of books that deserve to be found under the Christmas tree.

Our selection of books on cars and motorcycles

The Automotive Year 2022-2023

It is the oldest collection in automotive history. He blew out his 70 candles. L’Année Automobile is not a book, it is a bible. Directed by historian Serge Bellu and written by recognized experts in the automotive sector, this high-quality work examines all the events of the past year and the highlights in terms of industry, sport, culture and heritage. A retrospective put into perspective and brilliantly illustrated. All new models and concept cars of 2022 were presented. Incredibly rich, the Automotive Year is a legacy for future generations as a working document that deserves a special place in a car enthusiast’s library. Sophia Editions. Price: €69.

Always cars

After rare cars, our colleague Nicolas Meunier is interested in famous cars and puts them in their context. From the Volkswagen Beetle to the Fiat Palio, passing the Fiat 500, Trabant, Ford T, Austin Mini and Citroën 2 CV to name a few, the author pays tribute to these models of mass distribution that have marked history. of the car. Hugo Image, €29.95.

Audi RS

The story of the sports RS models of the Quattro GmdH division is now available in French. Journalist Constantin Bergander takes us through a story that begins in 1994 with the RS2 station wagon developed and produced by Porsche. Edition Sophia, €59.

Porsche Boxster and Cayman

Did you miss the first edition? Yours truly returned to his desk to write a new edition enriched by the latest developments in the Boxster-Cayman range, starting with the Cayman GT4 RS and the prototypes of the future electric 718. Edition Sophia, €49.

Citroën DS

Already the author of several books on Citroën, including one on the 100th anniversary of the brand that won an award at the 2020 Festival de l’Automobile, and specifically on DS, Serge Bellu is interested this time in the role played by before. -garde sedan.chevrons in many economic and cultural sectors through many anecdotes and stories. Glénat Editions, €35.50.

The first crossing of the Sahara by car

It’s been a hundred years! On December 17, 1922, André Citroën launched a flotilla of half-tracks on the camel tracks of Timbuktu. For the first time, vehicles leaving Algeria reached the banks of the Niger in Timbuktu. This book looks back on this heroic raid in fifteen episodes and twenty-one days that made it possible to discover the heart of Africa. Ariane Audouin-Dubreuil brought together unpublished documents taken from the rich archives bequeathed by her father, who was one of the pioneers of Sahara exploration. Glénat Editions, €35.50.

Mainly Porsche

In a large-format book, (re)discover 60 models that helped shape the history of the German sports car brand: from the Porsche 959, to the 935, which won Le Mans, through different versions of 911 , SUV and mid – two-seater behind the engine. Glénat Edition, €45.

70′ Motorcycles

Nostalgia sequence. This is a book primarily aimed at the boomers, the children born after World War II. They were about twenty years old when the Honda 750 Four, Triumph Bonneville, Norton Commando, BMW, Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki 750 H2 appeared. This book evokes memories of the 1970s when anything was possible. Sophia Editions, €45.

Legendary retro cars

Forty years of cars, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Forty years of innovation, technical progress, stylistic evolution and performance. The model is a bit messy but we enjoy turning the pages of history. Editions Larousse, €39.95.

In all directions, circulate, share, secure. A history of road equipment

Individual mobility and the car are also the history of the road, of traffic routes and the adventure of road developments. Historian and lecturer at the University of Paris 1, specialist in mobility, Mathieu Flonneau takes us back from the beginning of the early 20th century to the contemporary demands of a shared road. Must read. Editions Loubatières, €25.

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Our selection of motorsport books

career

Collectors already. These are not books but works of art that are on the coffee table in the living room. Under the impetus of Richard Mille, the photo agency DPPI drew on the treasures of the archives of the photographer Manou Zurini to create, mainly with the journalist Johnny Rives, the collection of books on Car Racing. A very exciting way to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of car racing in the sixties where photographers could get close to the cars at the side of the track and where the sport was still a good boy. Cercle d’Art editions have just released a fifth opus dedicated to the year 1969, a season marked by Jacky Ickx’s first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Jackie Stewart’s Formula 1 title in a Ford Cosworth-powered Matra . Editions Circle of Art, 129 euros.

70 years of motorsport in France

Fascinating! Who better than our colleague Stéphane Barbé, who has followed national and international motorsport for 40 years for the daily newspaper L’Equipe, can tell us the great history of motorsport in France since the creation of the French Motorsport Federation. Throughout the pages, we discover that France has always shone at the top of motorsport, through great drivers but also renowned manufacturers and talented craftsmen. Hugo Sports, €39.95.

24 Hours of Le Mans, 100 years of legend

Go back through the pages and several hundred photos from the archives of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the joys, sorrows and the good times of the most prestigious endurance event in the world born in 1923. Gründ, 49 €.95.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2022

As every year, the 2022 edition of the two Sarthois clock towers has its book right. An essential bible for model makers and enthusiasts of the Le Mans event, this book makes it possible not to miss anything on the course of the 90th edition won by Toyota. List of entries, photos of pilots, regulations: everything is scrutinized. Sophia editions, €49.

Weekend in Monaco 1962 and Rouen 1968

The initiative of Coco-B publishing house deserves to be welcomed and encouraged. Led by a team of enthusiasts, this house goes off the beaten track by immersing us in the grand prix weekends that have marked the history of motorsport. This new collection begins with two major prizes: Monaco 1962 and Rouen 1968. Through unpublished photographs of young and apprentice photographers and original texts by Patrice Moinet (Rouen) and Dominique Vincent (Monaco ), the reader immerses himself in the atmosphere of side integration. races and Grand Prix. You can feel the tension building as the F1 race approaches. The Monaco Grand Prix was won by Bruce McLaren’s Cooper Climax; Jacky Ickx’s Ferrari Rouen. In the rain, the Normandy event was marked by Jo Schlesser’s fatal accident in the Honda F1. Coco-B Editions, €49.90.

Formula 1, my family

His familiar face and voice have accompanied the Sundays of tens of thousands of Formula 1 enthusiasts for decades. Reporter journalist Jean-Louis Moncet has commented on Formula 1 for several decades. Now retired, he takes us back through his career through many anecdotes and describes the personalities of the drivers and players in the main motorsport discipline. Editions City, €18.90.

Formula 1

A new extended edition of the 2022 racing season and Max Verstappen’s second title. A 480-page book that deserves its place in the library of F1 enthusiasts. Since its creation in 1950, the F1 world championship has been overseen by Peter Nygaard. Glénat Editions, €59.95.

Ferrari – Maserati, the rivalry

For ten years, mainly in the 1950s, in Sport but also in F1, the two Italian sports car brands waged a merciless battle on all circuits around the world. A struggle for prestige as the historian Serge Bellu tells us. It’s interesting. Glénat editions, €45.