Customer Reviews

Go Faster: The Graphic Design of Racing Cars

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As a graphic designer and a race fan I got very excited when I heard of this book, so much so that I ordered it immediately. At first pass it is a very clean and artful presentation that seems to cover the topic well. Unfortunately after spending an evening with the book I am left wanting so much more. While the author does offer more insight to the topic than any other published piece that I am aware of, he stops shy of giving us a good and thoughtful overview. Only 14 written pages occupy this 144 page book. Even then many of these pages are only a quarter to half page full. With such a rich topic I wish that the author had explored the subject with much greater depth. There are two pages that are left unexplainably blank which only added to my growing frustration. I would not be so critical if the book were under $20.

Presenting the topic in a chronological format would have also helped me to understand the evolution and role of graphic communication in the sport. The book is somewhat random in it's presentation. Maybe even a comparison on the good versus bad design in relationship to art as a form of communication. The author as a graphic designer and would have been able to express his opinion on that. Yes, the author does explain how design was used to create a sense of speed but he stops short of the multi-faceted role color, shape, and text play on the undulating canvas of the automotive form. With exception of a couple of pictures of GT3 Porsche the last decade of racecars are not covered. NASCAR offers some graphically rich images and why no mention or pictures of the great Benetton F1 cars?

I was also disappointed that so many "toy" cars were used as illustrations. Many of the toys used are not very faithful to the real car thus water down the exercise. Some higher quality Minichamps models were used. I understand the creativity the author was trying to exercise but unfortunately the presentation suffered. The toys also dilute the representation of any serious attempt. I do like the "blank canvas" effect of the white car form to compare against. More photography or illustrations might have served him better. Even employing Photoshop to correct the flaws would have improved the presentation. Kevin Cameron's, The Grand Prix Motorcycle: The Official Technical History is a masterful example of how to artfully present such a topic.

All that said I would encourage a second edition of this book to improve upon, in my opinion the shortcomings that keep this book for being exceptional look at a worthy topic.

This is my first review after buying literally hundreds of books over the years. This book is so poorly done that I feel sorry for anyone who bought it unseen.

Of 140 pages, only 40 have any useful content, and even that is of little value.

The "models" are poor diecast, no consistency in size or accuracy, etc, etc. I wish I had seen the other reviews prior to purchasing.

Overall the book looks like a high school level project. (Freshman year!)

Anyone with a can of white spray paint and their old matchbox collection could duplicate the efforts of the author. There's a couple good photos in the book, but hardly worth the paper it's printed on. Totally disappointed. I was hoping for something informative and thought provoking based on the "artsy" promotion video I saw.

Like others, I ordered this book immediately upon reading about its release. While I have enjoyed leafing through it a couple of times over the past few months, I too am left wanting more.

This topic is intriguing, and while this is the only example of a book that I've seen that addresses it, this particular book feels much like a rough draft of what the author intends to do at a later date. Perhaps it is an undergraduate art history project? That very well may explain the complete lack of real automobiles being compared in white and with graphics.

I could have grabbed my camera and a big can of talcum powder and done this myself. Of course I didn't think of it first, so some credit is due to the author.

This is a rip-off! The author has painted small matchbox size models white and then hand painted them to look like race cars. Fully 1/2 of the pages are full of these models painted white. I do not need to pay money to see white toy cars. The quality of the paint jobs is relatively poor and there is VERY LITTLE actual information about REAL CARS in this ridiculous book. I used to work for a major company that created the largest quantity of quality toy cars and their work was exceptional. Hint: buy Hot Wheels, they are at least painted well.

Buy a subscription to RACER magazine or go ta a real race if you want to use your money to see race car graphics.

This book is a joke!

Hadden de eerste, midden in lengterichting over een raceauto getrokken sportstrepen daadwerkelijk een functie? Volgens de Duitse corporatedesigner Sven Voelker wel.
In zijn heerlijke, maar onvolledige plaatjesboek over het grafisch ontwerp op raceauto's maakt Voelker aannemelijk dat Briggs Cunningham zijn brute sportwagens voor de 24 uursrace van Le Mans 1953 voorzag van een dubbele blauwe streep van kap tot kont. Die zat daar zodat de coureur bij een "spin" van 360 graden al rondtollend kon blijven zien welke rijrichting hij op moest. Nadien verscheen de streep als sportieve decoratie ook op formule-racewagens: eenzitters met vrijstaande wielen.
In en na WOI experimenteerden schilders van het Vorticisme en ingenieurs met hoekige patronen - dazzlepainting - om daarmee oorlogsschepen, vliegtuigen en ook racewagens te camoufleren. Voelker meldt dat overigens niet. Bij het ontwikkelen van een - saaiig - sneeuwkristaldesign voor Suzuki benutte hijzelf heel verantwoord alle (on)mogelijke inspiratiebronnen. Misschien dat hij juist daarom zo gecharmeerd is van de ontwerpersloze decoraties op racewagens van de jaren zeventig.
Anders dan in de VS tooiden Europese racingteams zich sinds één van de eerste internationale autoraces, de Gordon Bennett Cup 1903, met nummers en nationale kleuren: Duits wit, Frans azuurblauw, Brits mosgroen, Italiaans bloedrood, Nederlands oranje, Amerikaans blauw/wit.
Pas bij de Grand Prix van Monaco 1968 verruilde het Lotus formule 1 team zijn klassieke British Racing Green met gele streep voor de oorlogskleuren rood-wit-goud van de sponsor Gold Leaf. Vier jaar later verkocht Lotus haar ziel aan de duivel, eh.. haar naam aan de sponsor en werd als John Player Special geheel nachtzwart met gouden randjes.
De hogere snelheden maakten het voor toeschouwers lastiger de door aerodynamica eenvormigere raceauto's onderling te kunnen onderscheiden. Dat de racerij na 1968 steeds kleuriger werd kwam verder door invloedrijkere sponsors die de kleurschema's van hun producten (Yardley herencosmetica, Marlboro sigaretten) eenvoudigweg op hun racewagens overzetten.
Waar een Virillio-achtig essay over twee, drie en vier dimensies: decoratie, plasticiteit in tijd=snelheid had gepast, pakt Voelker in zijn plaatjesboek simpeler aan. Met wit gespoten schaalmodelletjes van racewagens laat hij zien hoe sterk de walvisachtige sportscars - racewagens met een flinterdunne kunststof carroserie - op elkaar lijken. Omdat meerdere privéteams op Le Mans de bloedsnelle en levensgevaarlijke Porsche 917 reden moest deze er zo verschillend mogelijk uitzien. In de stille uurtjes voor de race spoten creatieve ingenieurs met mallen en geperste lucht (normaliter om de banden mee op te pompen) een experimenteel decortje op hun bolide. Er was één met een handgeschilderd hippie krullenpatroon, een gewone rode en één rôse, opgedeeld als een slagersdiagram van een varken met benoemde stukken vlees. John Wyers privéteam koos de tinten van sponsor Gulf, lichtblauw met oranje op hun succesvolle Porsche 917 die zo een bruut in babykleuren werd.

This book is a nearly random collection of pictures of racing cars, not a study that can tell you more than you see.

Note that some of the subject cars are made up liveries for toys, not attempts to show real liveries.

The use of the author's scruffy model collection to illustrate racing car advertising is pure laziness, not creative as it tries to come across as.
Its as if I wanted to write a book on food packaging and simply used the contents of my kitchen cupboards.
The scope and coverage falls far short of what might be expected.