PORSCHE 46

Really impressive book on history leading up to LeMans, continuing though the restoration of the Chuck Forge car.  With 5 authors and seven acknowledgments, it’s not surprising that massive research has taken place.

It was known that Porsche pulled 4 stored Gmund chassises and prepared them for LeMans.  Also known is that 2 were wrecked before qualifying and one during qualifying leaving one to start the race.  But which one?  Masterful research shows 063 was the one wrecked during qualifying, leaving 056.  But 063 was not entered.  Read the book to find how Porsche handled this problem.

Part One -- Europe by Leffingwell and Nyean provide a really decent history through the race with the only obvious errors the claim the Beutler bodied cabriolets were steel and the Cunnigham Cadillac engines were over head cam.  

Part Two -- Racing in America by Cridland, Edgar & Horstkorta starts with a much more favorable chapter on Max Hoffman than is the usual, followed by fascinating if confusing recounting of the battles among Hoffman, John von Neumann and Avery Brundage (Brumos).  

While owned and raced by von Neumann, it became clear that the coupe was not competitive in sprint racing and von Neumann’s solution was to decapitate the coupe and install larger brakes.  Horstkorta covers the more than 50 years the car was raced by Chuck Forge.

Finally (not actually) Part Three -- Rediscovery by Emory is the forensic investigation  establishing the car as the actual LeMans class winning entrant; followed by Restoration (absolutely amazing the recreation of how a car must have looked decades ago) , finally  Pebble Beach.

More -- studio photography; emissary -- demonstrating to Porsche that 056/063 was the actual LeMans class winning car.  Appendix -- I have never previously see all the French and German documents, letters, notes and memoranda translated.  Even the Photographs are keyed with only one error.

A spectacular book!

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