This is the story of a man, a team, and their life and times, as well as a complete record of all their achievements and failures. It logs the financial and personal cost of racing in the prewar and postwar periods. It tells of how the mighty car company Renault became involved with them in the late 1950s, and how Amedee Gordini became known throughout the world as one of the greatest engine tuners of his time.
This is a story of excitement, laughs, astonishment and anger – a story of the determination of a man with a dream and a passion for motor racing in the big leagues. It is the first time that the history of the always under-financed Gordini racing team has been documented in English, and the first complete story of Gordini himself in any language.
This volume will appeal to new enthusiasts and old hands of Formula 1 and sports prototype racing, especially those who have owned a Gordini-badged high-performance Renault road car. It charts Gordini's early life and beginnings in motorsport, up to 1969 when Renault took over the Gordini company, keeping his name on all the racing engines until 1986, before finally resurrecting it for a performance version of the Renault Twingo and Clio in 2009.
The book is packed with evocative period images from important collections, supplementary transcripts in English from many contemporary interviews, plus recollections from former employees remembering their time working with Gordini, and an exhaustive set of statistics. All the way it's a roller coaster of joy, despair, humour, and stunning images. The racing legend of ‘Le Sorcier' lives on.
The first time that the complete story of Gordini, Alpine and Renault has been brought together in one work
The first time the full story of Amedee Gordini has been told in English
The first complete history in English of all the racing cars and their races
Features unique illustrations of the cars
Packed with photographs from important period collections
Translated transcripts from many interviews conducted in the period and later
Contains interviews with ex-employees about their time working with Gordini
Unique extracts from the personal diaries of someone who lived with the team in 1948 and 1949
Lists every engine, race, and engine project
Contains moments of joy, despair, great humour and stunning images
