On cover: An investigation into the design and performance of civilian and military Volkswagens 1938-1946. - Facsim. of: 1st ed., London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1947

People's Car: A Facsimile of B.I.O.S. Final Report No. 998 Investigation into the Design and Performance of the Volkswagen or German People's Car

Engineering & Transportation

Ludvigsen, Karl E.

Transportation

The Stationery Office/Tso

Corvette: America's star-spangled sports car;: The complete history, (An Automobile quarterly library series book)

Automobile Quarterly Publications; [distributed by Dutton

The world's most powerful road racing cars

Automotive

Arco.

Porsche - Origin of the Species is the latest Porsche heritage book by renowned automotive historian Karl Ludvigsen.
Within Jerry Seinfeld s renowned Porsche collection resides an unassuming yet extraordinary piece of Porsche history: Porsche Gmund coupe 356/2-040. Captured exclusively for this book in a series of evocative portraits by acclaimed automotive photographer Michael Furman, 040's unsullied originality conveys with startling immediacy the combination of artistry, innovation and determination that went into its improbable creation. This cornerstone of the Seinfeld collection serves as the inspiration for Porsche - Origin of the Species, an in-depth exploration by the eminent automotive historian Karl Ludvigsen into the specific influences and circumstances that brought forth the first Porsche-badged sports cars.
How and when did the people of the Porsche firm find themselves in a sawmill in Gmund? What was the influence on the 356 of the cars and engines built by Porsche before and during the war? How and why was the first 356 shaped as it was? What was the real relationship between the tube-framed Type 356 roadster and the first 356/2 coupes? Questions like these deserve answers because the resulting DNA is so powerful, so robust, that it still influences the shape and style of Porsches well into the twenty-first century.
Karl Ludvigsen, author of the award-winning Porsche: Excellence Was Expected and Ferdinand Porsche Genesis of Genius, tackles these questions and more in Porsche - Origin of the Species. The saga that emerges encompasses mechanical revelations, human drama and the turmoil of world war. Porsche - Origin of the Species will appeal to all car enthusiasts who are eager to know what events really ignited the spark from which all other Porsches evolved.

Porsche - Origin of the Species: Foreword by Jerry Seinfeld

History

Europe

Bentleypublishers.com

Printed in the United States of America
Corvette - America's Star-Spangled Sports Car: The Complete History, 1953-1982 takes the reader behind the scenes during the early decades of Corvette design, engineering, brand development and racing competition. Award-winning automotive historian Karl Ludvigsen weaves together a technical examination of each model year with the compelling stories of the GM staffers and privateer racers who-through equal parts talent, passion and sheer force of will-kept the Corvette program thriving against heavy odds. Ludvigsen's up close and personal telling of the Corvette story captures the human drama and fierce rivalries that fueled the American car industry's golden age-and resulted in some impressive Detroit muscle.
When it was published in 1973, Star-Spangled Sports Car broke new ground as the first book devoted entirely to a single car model. It has since been credited with helping to kick-start the exciting Corvette hobby. Four decades after its original publication Classic and Sports Car declared, "Karl Ludvigsen's Corvette history remains the bible."
Now the award-winning author has fully revised, reorganized and expanded his Corvette bible, devoting 784 pages and 989 photos and illustrations to the complete history of the C1, C2 and C3 generation cars. As fast-paced and exciting as the cars it describes, this is a book for anyone who ever drove a Corvette-or wanted to.

Corvette - America's Star-Spangled Sports Car 1953-1982

Americas

Bentley Publishers

The V12 Engine gives an unprecedented and in-depth overview of the significant and important V12-powered cars and the magnificent engines that powered them, from the smallest, the 1.1-litre Itala of 1926, to the largest, the 112-litre "Quad Al" of 1965 powered by four Allison twelves.
Karl Ludvigsen, award-winnng automotive historian and author of the acclaimed Porsche: Origin of the Species takes the reader behind the scenes of the creation of the greatest twelves of all time, from the effortless urge of the luxurious Hispano-Suiza of the 1930s to the scintillating surge of the Lamborghini supercars of the 1960s. You're trackside at the epic battles of Grand Prix twelves in the 1930s and 1990s and you're in the boardrooms of BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz as they battle for V12 supremacy into the 21st Century.
From the first-ever V12 engine of 1904, Ludvigsen traces the type's evolution through the first European twelve, a 1913 Sunbeam, to the 1915 Packard in America, inspired by a 1908 Schebler. In 1917 Americas mania for multicylinders saw 16 marques offering V12 cars at New York's show. Britain's Daimler pioneered them in Europe, where Horch, Tatra, Voisin, Maybach and Hispano-Suiza built twelves.
Not all were successful. Lagonda had mixed fortunes with its twelves and Rolls-Royces Phantom III was an epic loss-maker. Cadillac left its "V-Future" V12 in the garage while Mercedes-Benz made only a handful of its twelves before World War II stopped play. Among Formula 1 entries the efforts of Porsche, MGN and Life were pitiful flops while Honda, Ferrari, BRM and Matra enjoyed success.
Lavishly illustrating The V12 Engine with rare photos and drawings from his Ludvigsen Library, the author explains how and why twelves evolved as they did and introduces such major movers as Jesse Vincent of Packard, Sunbeam's Louis Coatalen, Louis Delage, W.O. Bentley, Sir Henry Royce, Hispano's Marc Birkigt, Ferruccio Lamhorghini, Sir William Lyons of Jaguar, Bugatti's Paolo Stanzani and, of course, Enzo Ferrari. He brings to life their struggles to achieve their aims and quotes contemporary verdicts on their cars.
Ferrari's fabulous Enzo V12 brings the story up to date, along with contemporary twelve-cylinder engines from Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini, BMW, Maybach, Aston Martin, Maserati and Rolls-Royce, and such newcomers to the V12 ranks as Toyota, Bentley, Volkswagen, Cadillac, Peugeot and Audi.
Blending business with technology, racing with record-breaking and luxury carriages with supercars, The V12 Engine takes the reader on a high-speed journey through some of the most exciting and exotic cars ever made.

The V12 Engine: The Technology, Evolution and Impact of V12-Engined Cars: 1909-2005

Porsche: Excellence was Expected, Karl Ludvigsen's masterwork, is the unrivaled history of the Porsche company, its cars, and its motor racing heritage from the first Gmund coupe in 1948 through its sixty years as an independent car company to its continued success with the 2020 Taycan under the auspices of the Volkswagen Group. Over 40 years ago, Ludvigsen's first edition of Porsche: Excellence Was Expected was hailed as the definitive archetypal marque history, and updates in 2003 and 2008 continued to enhance that reputation. For this final update, the first in over 10 years, Ludvigsen reviewed newly available Porsche archival material, conducted new in-depth interviews, and unearthed many fresh facts that allowed new and sometimes surprising interpretations of many aspects of the Porsche company and its cars. Now four volumes, 2,836 pages and with nearly 3,000 photos and illustrations, every page of this all new Excellence Was Expected has been revised and redesigned. Remarkable both for its breadth of coverage and its technical depth, Excellence Was Expected covers every road and racing car from the first Gmünd coupe through the development of the 2020 all-electric Taycan. Ludvigsen dedicates 30 chapters to tracing the evolution of the iconic Porsche 911 from its conception in 1962 to the cutting-edge technology in the current 992 platform. As the world's largest race car manufacturer, Porsche's storied competition history is given 44 chapters, taking the reader from the 550 Spyder s class win in the 1954 Mille Miglia to the impressive 919 Hybrid's third consecutive overall win at Le Mans in 2017. Also closely examined is the market success of the Cayenne, Macan and Panamera, as well as the enthusiastic press and customer response to the Boxster/Cayman. A more human drama unfolds as Ludvigsen presents the inner workings, masterpieces and failures of the independent automaker. And he outlines in detail just how and why, even after the events that eventually plunged Porsche into the hands of Volkswagen, Porsche has continued to be Porsche.

Porsche-Excellence Was Expected

covers Corvettes from the early 1953 thru the 1970's, including Dream Machines and Racing by Karl Luvigsen, 1969

Guide to Corvette speed, (Modern sports car series)

Sports Car Press

The ultimate photo history book of America's classic sports car.

Corvette: America's Star-Spangled Sports Car : The Complete History

Business & Money

Automobile Quarterly

Since 1977 Karl Ludvigsen's Porsche: Excellence Was Expected has been regarded as the definitive work on Porsche history. In this masterwork Ludvigsen presents the inner workings, masterpieces and failures of an independent automaker that has exerted a disproportionately powerful influence on the automotive industry. Remarkable both for its breadth of coverage and its technical depth, Excellence Was Expected covers every Porsche road and racing car from the company's beginnings through the development of the 2009 Panamera. In this first revision since 2003, Ludvigsen has updated the three-volume set through 2008, including five augmented chapters, five completely new chapters, and 230 new images. The five new chapters feature full-color artwork throughout and cover the RS Spyder, the Cayman, the Type 997, the 997-based GT racers and the Panamera. He also looks closely at Wendelin Wiedeking's financially savvy stewardship of the Porsche company through the first decade of the twenty-first century. With this new edition, Excellence Was Expected remains "the definitive archetypal marque history" (Autocar) that it was in its first edition. And Karl Ludvigsen continues to set the bar high for automotive historians, just as the company he chronicles continues to shape our very definition of the term "sports car." New for the 2008 edition * 257 new or revised pages and 230 new photos * Five new full color chapters covering the RS Spyder, the Cayman, the Type 997 production and GT cars, and the Panamera * Updated coverage of the Boxster, the Type 996, the Cayenne and the Carrera GT * Updated Competition Victories appendix

Porsche: Excellence Was Expected : The Complete History of Porsche Sports and Racing Cars (An Automobile Quarterly Library Series Book)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ludvigsen, Karl E.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ludvigsen, Karl E.