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Rare F1 Books

 

Rare out of print F1 Books

This is a list of rare or hard to find Grand Prix and Formula 1 books that are generally considered to be collector’s items.  Most have expensive price tags starting from US$100/€80 and some are much higher. I’ve added a general price range guide which will give some indication of its rarity.

Note: This is not a complete list but I will update it from time to time as I regularly update my own more detailed lists, so come back to the site again and check. I’ve added price ranges based on a sample history of past and current sale prices on various online sites – so if you are trying to work out a valuation, please do your own research – prices depend a lot on book condition, geographic location to other buyer/collectors and timing. As I post up reviews of some of these books that I have in my own collection, I will add review links inside the table.

As you can see, there is a common pattern to most  of these rare grand prix books – the content usually involves the pre-war era of the dominant Auto Union or Silver Arrows cars, Ayrton Senna or Ferrari…

[Last updated: September 2020]

Title Author(s)/Photographer Publisher Price $US
A Decade of Continuous Challenges – a record of Honda’s Formula One Racing Activities Honda Motor Company Honda Motor Company $150
Adelaide Alive! The Grand Prix Years 1985-1995 Stuart Sykes  Australian Grand Prix Office $100
Any pre-1983 season Autocourse Season Review Book (note: the earlier and better condition, the more expensive!) Hazleton Publishing $150+
Autodrome – The Lost Race Circuits of Europe Sam Collins, Gavin Ireland Veloce $200+
Auto Union Album 1934-1939

 

Chris Nixon Transport Bookman (1998) $150+
Auto Union GP Race and Record Cars Peter Vann Motorbooks International (2002) $150+
Ayrton Senna’s Principles of Race Driving

 

Ayrton Senna Hazelton Publishing (1993) $100+
Bernard Cahier – F-Stops, Pit Stops, Laughter & Tears Bernard Cahier Autosports Marketing Associates (2006) $150+
BRM: The Saga of British Motor Racing: Vol 1 – Front Engined Cars 1945-1960 Doug Nye, David Owen & Tony Rudd Motor Racing Publications (1994) $150
Bugatti – A Racing History David Venables Haynes Publishing (2002) $100
Design and Behaviour of the Racing Car Stirling Moss and Laurence Pomeroy William Kimber (1964) $100+
Dick & George: The Seaman – Monkhouse Letters Doug Nye Palawan Press (2002) $250+
Driving to Perfection – Aryton Senna de Silva

 

Rainer Schlegelmilch, Ulrich Berberick (1994) $200+
Ferrari by Mailander Karl Ludvigsen Dalton Watson Fine Books (2005) $100
Ferrari in Camera: From Ascari to Villeneuve Doug Nye, Geoff Goddard Palawan Press $1000 (cloth)£2000 (leather)
Ferrari 500 F2 Doug Nye, Pietro Carrieri Cavalleria (1994) $200
Ferrari Monoposto Catalogue Raisonne 1948-1997

 

Bruno Alfieri Automobilia $100+
Ferrari – Piloti Che Gente Enzo Ferrari Conti Editorie (1985) $200
Ferrari 1947-1997: The Official Book Karl Ludvigsen Georgio Nada Editorie $200
First Among Champions – The Alfa Romeo Grand Prix cars David Venables Haynes Publishing (2000) $150
Gilles Villeneuve Nigel Roebuck Hazelton Publishing $100
Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco 1929-1996 J.P. Barthelemy (1998) – 4 volume slip case
$250
Grand Prix Vandvoort The History of the Dutch Formula One Grand Prix 1948 – 1985 Mark Koense Tuvalu Media $200+

Hart Power – The Full Story

LE 75pcs £ 400

Historie Du Grand Prix De L’A.C.F 1906-1914

Tasio Mathieson Gies Pluim – Naarden (1965) £ 125

Honda 1964-1968

Car Graphic (1968) $400+

Joe Honda: His Works Mature  Turbo Era F1

Tasio Mathieson (sponsored by Hugo Boss, AGF, BMW, Air France) $150+

Klemantaski & Ferrari

Louis Klemantaski Automobilia, Milan, Italy (1991) $300
Kings of the Nürburgring Chris Nixon Transport Bookman $300

La Scuderia Ferrari 1929-1939

Luigi Orsini & Franco Zagari

Editoriale Olimpia (1979)

$400+

Le Alfa Romeo di Vittorio Jano

Luigi Fusi, Enzo Ferrari, Griffith Borgeson Edizioni di Autocritica (1982) $350

Le Grand Prix Automobile De Monaco Story of a Legend 1929-1960

Yves Naquin Editions Automobilia Monaco (1989)
$200
Lotus 25 & 33 John Tipler Sutton Publishing (2001) $100
Lotus 72: Formula One Icon Michael Oliver Coterie Press (2003) $200+

Magnificent Monopostos: Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars 1923-51

Simon Moore Parkside (2014) $350
Memoirs of Enzo Ferrari’s Lieutenant Franco Gizzi Giorgio Nada Editore (2002) $200+
Mercedes Benz Grand Prix Racing 1934-1955 George C. Monkhouse White Mouse Editions (1983) $100
Mon Ami Mate Chris Nixon Transport Bookman (2001) $100+
Monaco Le Grand Prix Automobile De Monaco Story of a Legend: 1929-1960 Yves Naquin Automobilia Monaco (1992) $500+
Monaco: The Golden Age of the Grand Prix Jesse Alexander  (2014) $400+
Monumental Senna Guy A. Rolland, Harald Strebelle, F1 press photographers Universal Publishing $500+
Racing the Silver Arrows Chris Nixon Motorbooks International (1997) $100+
Nico Rosberg:Finally Paul Ripke optimal Media GmBH (2006) $200+
One Formula: 50 years of years of car design Paul Porter Porter Press International (2019) $500+
Rosemeyer Elly Beinhorn Rosemeyer and Chris Nixon Transport Bookman (1986) $100+
Ronnie Peterson – Formula 1 Super Swede

 

John Tipler Coterie Press (2003) $100+
Senna: Memories and Momentoes of a Life lived at Full Speed

 

Christopher Hilton Haynes Publishing (2009) $100
Senna: Portrait of a Racing Legend Richard Hawkins Oxford International $150+
Shooting Star: The Life of Richard Seaman Chris Nixon Transport Bookman (2000) $100+
Tazio Nuvolari Franco Zagari Automobilia (1992) $300+
Team Lotus the Indianapolis Years Andrew Ferguson Haynes Publishing $100+
The Brescia Bugatti Bob King Images Publishing Group (2006) $250+
The Cruel Sport: The Drama of Grand Prix Racing Robert Daley Bonanza Books (1963) $100+
The French Sports Car Revolution Anthony Blight Haynes Publishing (1996) $100+
The Grand Prix Car, Volumes 1 and 2 Laurence Pomeroy Motor Racing Publications (1956) $300-$500
The Magnificent Monopostos – Alfa Romeo Grand Prix Cars 1925-1951 Simon Moore Parkside Publications (2014) $500+
The Robert Fellowes Collection: Grand Prix 1934-1939 Chris Nixon Transport Bookman (2001) $150+
When Nuvolari Raced Valerio Moretti and Angela Cherrett Motorbooks International (1994) $200+
Williams FW14B: The Evolution & Development of the Williams Grand Prix Car 1991-1993 Andy Mathews and Sean Kelly Hilton Lifetime Publishing $200+
Winnow your words Kimi’s book of Haiku F1 Racing Philip Morris (2018) $200+
Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips Julius Weitmann & Richard von Frankenberg Motor Presse Verlag Stuttgart $200

 

 

Luxury F1 Books

Some books aren’t old and rare, they are just new and expensive with limited print runs! I call these “luxury F1 books” and they are targeted to the die-hard collector and/or super-rich.

I’ve tried to compile a list (see below), again not a complete list but I will slowly update it. Being limited runs, most of these books have higher end production quality with slip cases and corresponding price tags.

The Opus books are easily the most expensive: Formula 1 Opus starting at a measly £3,000 for the Classic Edition and £20,000 for the signed Champions Edition!

Ferrari Opus is definitely the most expensive read of all – it comes in 4 versions: Classic Edition for $3,520 (with 4100 copy print run), the Cavallino Rampante Edition $6,545 for (500 print run), the Enzo edition for $34,925 (400 print run) and the diamond encrusted cover Enzo Diamante edition for $275,000 (20 copies only, maximum of one per country).

 

Title Author(s), Photographer Publisher
7 91  (Michel Comte on Michael Schumacher) Sabine Kehm, Michel Comte Albers Zimmerman
Ferrari Formula 1948-2000 Paolo D’Alessio SEP (LE 1000 pcs)
Ferrari Opus Various Kraken Opus
Ferrari in Camera: From Ascari to Villeneuve Doug Nye, Geoff Goddard Palawan Press
Formula 1 Opus Various Kraken Opus
Jackie Stewart’s Grand Prix Racing Album Jackie Stewart Genesis
Jim Clark Life at Team Lotus Jim Darley Coterie Press
One Formula – 50 years of car design Porter Press International
The Great Challenge Era series Various, Rainer Schlegelmilch Dieter Streve-Mülhens