(RacingWire) - In the last couple of years we have been inundated with lavish, sparkly coffee table books about Race Series, Race Tracks, and Race Drivers. Some of them very good…some of them often preachy and almost juvenile. So I was on guard for any of that with the ‘Art of the Formula 1 Race Car’. The good news is that this volume (I’m not sure I should call it a book) is at the same time none of the above and all of the above. It is also absolutely stunning.

From the cover, to the overleaf, to the title page, to the table of contents, the photography grabs you by the eyes and demands you give it your most undivided attention. It is almost difficult to actually read the written opening to what eventually becomes quite an interesting documentation of the beginning of what we today call Formula 1 and its design and development.

Codling has drawn upon his intimate experience and contacts with those who were and are deeply rooted in the sport for insights that most casual followers would not have access to. People like Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac, Ken Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart, and Adrian Newey and Patrick Head, to name just a few. And Gordon Murray, who was the head of design at Brabham until retiring in the late 1980’s, gives credence to each marque lineage. But that is where the peachiness of the book is allowed and it is nothing but complimentary to the historic photo line. And what a photo line it is.

James Mann’s artistic capture of each of these thourghbreds is very high art indeed. The lighting, the angle, the closeness of the lens, the depth of field makes each picture…personal. In one frame there is the legendary machine that you have watched either at the circuit or in video, absolutely pristine and sparkling. Like the day it was born and not a day older. Then, in subsequent pictures, appear the scrapes and ripples, the dings and nicks that a machine like this incurs in heated battle. Then and only then does one become aware of the heritage of some of these amazing subjects. It’s as if you found and went through the family photo album of your favorite supermodel and there they were both at their absolute best and their most ordinary every day kick arounds. What is truly amazing is that as the cars develop and progress their state of wear and tear appears greatly diminished. A tribute to modern materials incorporated into the designs.

The ‘Art of the Formula 1 Race Car’ is something unique in books of this nature in that it is both informative AND beautiful to look at. Definitely add it to that list of special gifts for that special car person in your life.

Art of the Formula 1 Race Car

Written by Stuart Codling - Photographed by Stuart Codling and James Mann

Commentary by Gordon Murray – Forward by Peter Windsor

11” x 9.7” Hardcover Color & Black and White distributed by Motorbooks

$45 US, $56 Can.