Porsche 70 Years - by Randy Leffingwell (Hardcover)

About the Book

This richly illustrated book offers a complete history of Porsche, Germany's premium sports-car maker. Porsche 70 Years focuses on engineering and design stories, while also paying homage to key players.

Book Synopsis

There's something for every Porsche enthusiast in Porsche 70 Years, whether rear-engine 911 loyalist, race fan, or follower of contemporary vehicles. Fasten your seat belt and hit the gas.

Porsche is one of the most important and iconic automotive manufacturers in history. From its first 356 to today's technical tour de force, the 918, Porsche has advanced from strength to strength for nearly seven decades.

In Porsche 70 Years: There Is No Substitute, author Randy Leffingwell offers a richly illustrated and detailed book that captures the full story of one of the world's leading automotive companies. Beautiful, contemporary photos and rare historical images accompany in-depth analyses of milestone cars and events.

Created with Porsche's cooperation, the book brings to light the engineering and design stories behind Stuttgart's most famous cars--such as the 356, 904, 917, 911, 928, 935, 956 and others--as well as its key players. Comprising the most comprehensive overview of the company's entire history, Porsche 70 Years truly has no substitute.

Review Quotes

"Porsche 70 Years is packed with a mix of gorgeous vintage photographs, original factory renderings, and spectacular studio photography from Michael Furman. As for Leffingwell's part, he again knocks it out of the park with a mixture of eloquent fact recitation and turn of phrase that doesn't beat you over the head with elegance."--FlatSixes.com

"I can conclusively say that if you want a condensed history lesson on Porsche's last 70 years that focuses on its most legendary cars, you won't do much better than getting your hands on this book. There is, dare I say it, no substitute."--TheNewswheel.com

"It's all here: race cars, production cars, concepts and prototypes, every significant Porsche ever made gets an analysis in Randy Leffingwell's book Even the 914! Whichever Porsche is your favorite gets a thorough look here."--AutoWeek

"The informative text for each model recounted is somewhat brief and doesn't get too bogged down in the minutiae, while the cars themselves are pictured in all their splendor with rarely seen archival images and contemporary photography by Michael Furman...[A] worthy purchase for any Porsche enthusiast's bookshelf."--Porsche Club of America

About the Author

Randy Leffingwell wrote his first book, American Muscle, while still on staff at the Los Angeles Times. The book examined Times' publisher Otis Chandler's growing collection of muscle cars. American Muscle published in September 1990, jump-started a love of book creation that ultimately led Leffingwell to leave the Times in 1995. By then, he and Motorbooks had published Porsche Legends, and six other books.

Since 1990, Leffingwell has authored more than 60 titles, most of them automotive-oriented. Over 30-plus years, these include a dozen Porsche titles ranging from general overviews--Porsche 75 Years: Expect the Unexpected, and The Complete Book of Porsche 911--to deeper explorations in Porsche Turbo and Porsche 911: 50 Years. During this time, he has regularly traveled to Germany to continue his research regarding Porsche's history. To date, Leffingwell has interviewed more than 200 Porsche engineers, stylists, model makers, racers, and managers.

While he has tackled other subjects including John Deere tractors, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and West Coast lighthouses, Leffingwell admits he is almost addicted to the Porsche story. In addition to his book work, he is historical editor for 000 magazine and PorschePanorama. And for the past decade he has been researching and writing an encyclopedic history of Porsche's motorsports endeavors.

Leffingwell lives near Santa Barbara, California.