Classic Racing Engines: Design, Development and Performance of the World's Top Motorsport Power Units

I own hundreds of automotive books, but "Class Racing Engines" is the one that I read over and over. It combines deep technical information, fantastic photos, rare blueprints, and most important of all, Ludvigsen's unique ability to place things within a historical context.

What I like most about this book is how it puts you right in the shoes of the engine designer. What should the valve angle be? Hemispherical combustion chamber? Materials? Number of bearings? You get the picture... this book gets you deep into motor design and then wallows around in it. It's almost a sinful delight to read.


Classic Racing Engines reviewed by a Kansas Rancher   August 3, 2001
Chas DeGeer (Medicine Lodge,Kansas USA)
I'm a Kansas Rancher who works with technology based at best in the 1970's. Bailing wire and duct tape can fix most of my problems. Ludvigsen writes for my understanding level; no high math or esoteric physics, just how the engine was designed; what new, different, or improved insights were polished to make a winner out of the raw product. From the individual product of the designer of the Kuchen 2-liter of 1952 to products of cubic money and scores of engineering departments of major manufactures like the Honda V-12 of 1992, Ludvigsen explains the reasons the design worked, why problems happened, and how the engine contributed to the evolution of mechanical knowledge. I enjoyed reading and using it as a frame of reference.