by Gilles Fournier, translated by David Burgess-Wise

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First published in 1994 in French, this superb book, heavily illustrated, comprehensively explains the full history of the Amilcar company. Now in English with a French text companion volume. The book describes the development of the Amilcar company, the different models produced, and details its racing records and the drivers and personalities involved. David Burgess-Wise, respected motoring author and enthusiast has provided the translation and prepared a new Brooklands supplement with previously unpublished photographs from the Brooklands archives. This English version is lavishly illustrated with the original period photographs and advertisements of the era. The French text is included as a separate supplement, and the two volumes are enclosed in a slip case.

by Patrick Lesueur and translated by David Burgess-Wise

Arriving mid-August 2011 and will be available at Pebble Beach RetroAuto in California from August 19-21.

Surely no form of contest has ever equalled the marriage of luxury and ostentation offered for many years by the great concours d’élégance. Elitist perhaps but their sheer magnificence seems just as fascinating in our  present world as it did in the first half of the 20^th Century. It should be remembered that these events allowed the most celebrated artists and artisans boundless freedom of expression. Everything was put into the melting-pot to achieve one end – the realisation of a dream.

The vital step for organisers of such events was to choose a venue famous  for its air of leisurely hedonism, such as Longchamp, Deauville, Cannes, La Baule, Vichy, Nice or Enghien, where costly automobiles, their elegant silhouettes crafted by the great names of  contemporary coachwork , could parade. To enhance the atmosphere, these exotic creations were presented by pretty ladies, mostly recruited from fashionable society, dressed in the latest fashion by the leading Parisian couturiers in an attempt to achieve the best possible symbiosis with the machines that they accompanied.

by Ariane Audouin-Debreuil translated by Ingrid MacGill

The Sahara Desert Track to Timbuktu by Citroën Half Track

On December 17, 1922, André Citroën sent an expedition of Citroën half tracks or autochenilles to follow the camel tracks across the Sahara desert from Algeria to Timbuktu on the banks of the River Niger. This was the first motorized crossing of the Sahara and took twenty-one days. It permitted the establishment of a land connection between North Africa and the Sudan, at that time extremely isolated, and opened the way for the exploration of the heart of Africa.

By Richard S. Adatto and Diana E. Meredith

Delage Styling and Design, La Belle Voiture Francaise is a celebration of the golden moment when the extraordinary Delage chassis joined forces with the most distinguished French stylists and coachbuilders of the age. Car enthusiasts can now enjoy a book written in English about the marque preferred by the rich and the famous from 1929 to 1953.

The book provides an account of the beginnings of the company headed by Louis Delage and his team of engineers, and touches upon its early racing history when driver Robert Benoist won the trophies that made the car famous around the world.

by Daniel Cabart and David Burgess-Wise

“The most comprehensive history of Delage in English”

To connoisseurs of fine automobiles the name Delage uniquely combines performance and elegance, symbolising luxury and the fine French taste that is summed up in the simple phrase “La Belle Voiture Française” – “The most beautiful French car”. This long awaited book – the first comprehensive history of Delage ever published in the English language – reveals that such a reputation is only achieved by unrelenting enthusiasm and effort.

By John Reynolds