Speed Read Supercar
The History, Technology and Design Behind the World’s Most Exciting Cars
by Basem Wasef
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Pub Date Sep 18 2018 | Archive Date Oct 04 2018
Quarto Publishing Group – Motorbooks | Motorbooks
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Description
When Lamborghini unleashed its Miura on an unsuspecting world in 1966, it set off a high-performance arms race that continues to this day. Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, Porsche, and Lotus all accepted the challenge. Over the following five decades, numerous others stepped up, including stalwarts like Aston Martin, BMW, and Audi, as well as small-volume specialists such as Koenigsegg, Pagani, Noble, and Spyker. The result is a veritable smorgasbord of blazingly fast and delicious-looking land missiles available to anyone with several hundred thousand dollars to spare.
Supercars are complex subjects that interest nearly everyone. Every part of a supercar represents myriad decisions informed by engineering, aesthetics, human interface, and emotion. Speed Read Supercar answers the hows and whys of these fantastic cars in sections divided by topic, offering an engaging review of history, engineering, design, key concepts, and key people.
Each section ends with a glossary of related terms, and informational sidebars provide fun facts, historical tidbits, and mini-bios of key people in the supercar world. Sleek illustrations showcase the incredible designs.
With Motorbooks’ Speed Read series, become an instant expert in a range of fast-moving subjects, from Formula 1 racing to the Tour de France. Accessible language, compartmentalized sections, fact-filled sidebars, glossaries of key terms, and event timelines deliver quick access to insider knowledge. Their brightly colored covers, modern design, pop art–inspired illustrations, and handy size make them perfect on-the-go reads.
Marketing Plan
Key Selling Points:
- Porsche 911 is one of Motorbooks strongest subjects
- Author is one of the world’s leading Porsche authority
- Supercars are a top subject for enthusiast print and online media and represent the high-profile, halo car for every auto manufacturer
- Author is a well-known journalist
Key Campaign Activity
Publicity focus beyond automotive press
Target car enthusiasts and mainstream audiences
Excerpts
Advertisements and Partnerships to continue push of the series
Trade:
- Review copy push to: Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, Booklist
Retail:
- Partner with Sales team to create a coordinated Sales and marketing effort
Consumer:
- Outreach to top automotive: Dean’s Garage, Just a Car Guy, Automoblog, Car & Driver, Hemmings, Hagerty’s, Autoweek
- FB advertisement
- GoodReads Giveaways
- Social Media via Quarto Knows
- Utilize Basem’s connections in the auto industry and his social media presence: Twitter: 1.9K followers, Instagram: 3.5K followers,
Publicity/Media:
- Early review copies to Auto media: Autoblog, Automotive.com, AutoWeek, Automobile, Petrolicious, Hemmings, Hagerty, Car and Driver
- Pitch to luxury outlets: Primer Magazine, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Modern Man, Elite, Robb Report, Forbes, Travel + Leisure, Wall Street Journal
- Porsche-focused outlets: Flatsixes.com, Excellence Magazine, Porsche Panorama, Porsche 356 Club, Porsche Club of America
- Pitch to mainstream media: Detroit News, The Newswheel, Men’s Journal, Maxim, Uncrate, Houston Chronicle
- Pitch to marque specific media: The Prancing Horse, Forza, Ferrari Magazine, Cavallino, Fourtitude
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780760362914 |
| PRICE | $19.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 160 |
Featured Reviews
Susanne K, Reviewer
After a brief introduction to what makes a car "super", Wasef takes you right to the beginnings of the supercar and introduces you to the "Groundbreakers" - such as the Ford GT40, and the Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera.
For every car there is one page filled with the story of how it came to be, and why it is important. Then Wasef added a "fun fact", "historical tidbit" and the "key person", which is vital information that could help you win a pub quiz. The right page is filled with a beautiful illustration of the car in question.
The chapters "Eye For Design" and "Tech Revolution" give you information about the key factors that were present in supercars. Often this meant that it was style over function. Even though, supercars certainly push technology forward during the modern days - which is explained in the chapter "Modern Mile Stones." Here we take a look at the supercars that are currently in production and are using modern technology such as hybrid systems to get even more performance.
The last two chapters deal with the "Sacred Grounds" of supercar testing and engineering, and the "Indie Spirit" that emerged among private constructors. At the end of each chapter, there is a page dedicated to an important visionary - such as Caroll Shelby and Enzo Ferrari.
Personally, I liked the addition of lesser known people as well. Especially Gian Paolo Dallara; as someone who follows the WEC and ELMS I had heard of the name "Dallara" as a chassis constructor before but had not known that the founder had a hand in the supercar area.
My favourite chapters were about the "Modern Mile Stone" and "Indie Spirit." The latter really told me new information that I had not known before - learning about new car manufactures. Otherwise, most of the information given in the book does not give a lot of new insight to a well-versed car enthusiasts.
"Speed Read Supercar" is meant to be an introduction in the topic "supercars" and it does this well by providing a broad insight of the important areas, meaning supercar rookies are not overwhelmed by too much information. This is accompanied by very beautiful graphics.
Librarian 68637
This book provides a sweeping but high level summary of famous and iconic cars, car-related personalities, technology, and manufacturers. While it's light on detail what's in there is very well written. Interesting details that aren't widely known are included. My only issue is there are no pictures of the subjects, just stylized graphics.
Literary R, Reviewer
“Speed Read Supercar: The History, Technology and Design Behind the World’s Most Exciting Cars” by Basem Wasef is a truly fascinating look at the sexiest vehicles alive, ones I will drive only in my dreams. This is the kind of book that gives my engineer husband the greatest thrills and will make a fab Christmas present for him and any man on your birthday or Christmas list! 5/5
Pub Date 11 Oct 2018
Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Motorbooks and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.
#SpeedReadSupercar #NetGalley
Kari C, Bookseller
I learned a lot reading this book. The book opens up with an introduction to supercars. Each car gets a chapter. I enjoyed the fun facts and reading about the people behind the cars. Illustrations also accompany the text. This book will make a great gift. Enjoy this armchair drive.
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