Ferrari: A Champion’s View
by Phil Hill
It turns out that Phil Hill—America’s first world champion, three-time Le Mans winner, master car restorer and gentleman—is one terrific story teller. A Champion’s View is that rare coffee table book where the text outshines the photos, thanks to Phil’s lively prose and insider’s look at some of the world’s most beautiful and successful sports cars ever built. All the Ferrari sports cars he raced are here, plus several others, shown in glorious color photos, beginning with the first car to roll out of Enzo’s shop, the Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, which Alberto Ascari raced in the 1940 Millia Miglia, up to the carbon-fiber 333 SP, which came with a million dollar price tag. Phil’s favorite? The 4.0-liter, 335 S of the mid-1950s. Says the author, “Ferrari’s 335 S exemplified the sort of racing I liked best. No engine restrictions, no fuel mileage considerations, just you and a very powerful unblown engine in a chassis as good as that engine, working like hell to get to the finish line first.”
Hill remained a captive of the Ferrari mystique after he departed, even in the years immediately after, while driving for other teams. The V-12 was a particular fascination. “I always had great faith in those powerplants,” says Hill, “and in 1967 they seemed so sophisticated compared to our Chevrolet V-8s (that powered the Chaparral 2F).”
Comments like those above coupled with Hill’s encyclopedic knowledge make this book endlessly fascinating and a must for enthusiasts. One can only hope that Hill will produce a book of like quality about the F1 Ferraris.
Dalton Watson Fine Books, Ltd. www.daltonwatson.com (800) 914-5656 $90, (autographed) $100
