Silver Arrows in Camera

A photographic portrait
Anthony Pritchard

Packing an armoury of photos, some previously unpublished, this massive volume covers every race entered by the pre-war Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams. It does not claim to supplant Chris Nixon’s masterwork on the subject, but is an impressive assemblage of images. Divided into sections covering the three formulas the cars raced under, it is interspersed with race summaries, a pre-1934 scene-setter and chapters on record-breaking, hillclimbs and what happened afterwards. It’s a treat to see Klemantaski’s period colour shots of these cars – I did not know that they ran with coloured grilles. There’s not a great deal to read, but detailed specs, driver biogs and a list of surviving cars are all useful. GC

Published by Haynes, ISBN 978 1 84425467 5, £75