Go Like Hell
Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans
eBook - 2009
By the early 1960s, the Ford Motor Company was falling behind. Young Henry Ford II, who had taken the reins with little business experience, had to do something to shake things up. Baby boomers were taking to the road in droves, looking for speed not safety, style not comfort. Meanwhile, Enzo Ferrari, whose cars epitomized style, was crafting beautiful sports cars, "science fiction on wheels," but was also called "the Assassin" because so many drivers perished while racing them. This is the story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game at the most prestigious and brutal race in the world, something no American car had ever done.--From publisher description.
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Publisher:
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009
ISBN:
9780547416564
Branch Call Number:
eBook
Characteristics:
1 online resource
text file
Additional Contributors:
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Add a CommentA very good recounting of the rivalry between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari to win the Le Mans motor race. They give a good history of the development of the Ford GT40 race car that would dominate the race world for the bottom half of the 1960s. Enjoy reading about all the race drivers and their backgrounds and rivalries. Surprised by the level of accidental death in the sport in that time which has been much improved by Race Saftey focus starting the late 1970s.
This is racing. Unlimited budgets, bigger than life drivers, leading edge technology, death and destruction. If you want a story with more twists and turns than a Formula 1 track, this is it. Ferrari and Ford use their teams as chess pieces in a high stakes game with a win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans being the final move. What a great read!
I fell in love with this book and could not put it down once I started. It was not just about wonderful racing machines but also a great history about the culture, drivers, companies and the variety of characters’ involved in the piece of American automotive racing. I’m sure I will wait a couple of years and read it again for a recap.
A well-researched look at this major shift in sports prototype racing, and the characters who were involved. Also highlights the extreme danger of auto racing during the 1960s.
The year is 1963. Enzo Ferrari and his cars have dominated the 24 Hour Le Mans in France but now Ford wants to give it a shot. All about Ford starting from scratch to build a winning vehicle - Ford GT 40. Great background on Ferrari and Henry Ford the 2nd and their desire to build fast cars Feature drivers as John Surtees, Phil Hill. Mario Andretti, Bruce McLaren, Carroll Shelby and executive Lee Iaccocca
My husband read every word and loved it. It reads like a thriller and has loads of anecdotal trivia about the fierce competition between Ford and Ferrari in the early days of high speed racing. He recommends it totally and wants me to find him another book "just like it". Ever feel like that ?