Porsche Books

Informative,with some Porsche specific info and a pleasure to read. Vic adds in bits of personal stories that are entertaining.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RG5KF8N4HQUYT Vic's book is helpful for everyday driving as well as Drivers Ed days!You do have to have some understanding though already of the basics and terminology.

This is more of a "Vic is the greatest driver in the world book" than a "How To" book on high performance driving. If you're looking to read boastful stories about the author then this is the book for you. If, however, you're looking to learn about high performance driving look elsewhere.

I've purchased this book for the second time after my first copy (signed by Vic himself) was lost by a friend. As other reviewers have noted, the book might not deliver quite what one expects. The title may be at fault, and it was possibly chosen by the publisher more than the author. But if you read the book for its insights into 1960s and early 70s sports car racing and rallying, you won't be disappointed. Elford brings an unusual blend of technical expertise, first-hand knowledge, and good writing skills to the task. It can be inspirational to know that the source of this driving advice was the real deal, someone who thundered around the 'green hell' of the Nurburgring fast enough to win it twice, and who earned the nickname 'quick Vic' while dragging around the slowest car (Cooper) on the F1 grid.

Another reviewer objects to there being so much Elford in this book. But instead think of this as a memoir with tons of advice and instruction thrown in. Elford himself (from someone who knew him) was much too modest to tell his story without trying to make it useful to others. In the end it doesn't matter what kind a car you drive. His attitude and insights in high performance driving situations are worth understanding. He may or may not make you a faster driver, but he'll probably make you a wiser one.

The title is a misrepresentation. This is not a handbook for driving a Porsche quickly or professionally. I bought this book because in 2 months I am going to drive my rear engined 993 on a F1 circuit. I have no circuit experience, and cannot get any coaching or any circuit experience in the country I live in. Since this is a rear engined car which I have little experience with I was particularly wanting some tips particular to rear engined cars. There is nothing in the whole book which is particular to driving Porsches or rear engined cars. The only reason I will not throw this book out is because it has some interesting 1960's and early 19970's Porsche racing pictures (poor quality black and white though). Also to be fair there are some good racing stories. He is undoubtedly a very impressive driver having been successful at the highest levels in rallying and sports prototype endurance racing. A better title would be "My Porsche Racing History". If you want a book on fast driving I would highly recommend Ross Bentley's "Speed Secrets" in place of this book.

Basically of very little value. Very dumbed down, provides no insight what so ever on any aspect of these cars. The pictures are repetitive... too many of the same cars. No variation of color available color schemes. Uninteresting backgrounds. No real technical information. The booklet from the porsche dealer exceeds what we have here. A real waste of money...

Being an owner, I am a bit biased. But I like the book, great coffee table book with lots of pictures. Good background information on the car, from the initial design, to the process making the car to what it is. I recommend this book, especially to Cayman owners. But anyone who likes cars or porsches should enjoy it as well.

This book is awesome! The photos and information is great. And, Amazon's price is 40% off of other websites. You cannot go wrong with this one!

Let me admit a bias up front: I own a Cayman S, which runs like a screaming banshee and handles like it's on rails. The book about this new Porsche model was a gift, and I am very grateful for this gift. The book's attributes include another reviewer's description of the Cayman's history of development. The book has two shortcomings. First, the very skilled photography is both a blessing and a curse. The Cayman's spectrum of color options have been unduly narrowed in the examples shown, and the overtones have "fogged" most shots. "Ethereal ad infinitum" is my vote for the caption for most of this book's photographs, but not for the car, which though certainly beautiful, is an automotive Cheetah. Further detracting from the photographic essay, is an excess of photos of the door handles, hand break levers, and the like. Sounds like a sales brochure? Well, look at the resumes of the authors, Porsche brochure writers of the first rank.

In sum, I'm glad that I have this book. I would guess that most Cayman owners would enjoy it as well. Many enthusiastic owners of other Porsche and other sports car models may well cherish this book. But, it's self-congratulatory message shines through. This book is as biased toward the new Porsche Cayman as I am.

This book has some outstanding pictures of the Porsche Cayman. Some of the scenes are excellent and the photography is very well done. I thought the text was not of the same caliber as the photo work. I think some of it was a little too tongue in cheek for my tastes. But overall, I recommend it.

Good book for the novice looking for some information on converting a 911 to full track/race duty. If you're a seasoned 911 owner and track driver, this book won't provide you with anything much more groundbreaking than you may already know. It's a basic account of the transformation of an enthusiast's car from a sporting daily driver car, into a dedicated track machine.

Many of the fine details are left out in the assembly/disassembly of the car. Technical details of the whys and hows of DIY race car preparation are not what this book is about. Good book nonetheless.

This book consists of three columns per page with such a large font that there are usually four to six words per line. Talk about an inefficient reading format, two columns would have reduced eye shift going from line to line. It's as if the publisher was trying to turn an eighty page book into it's present 135 page form. And there are very few diagrams; most of the illustrations are photos with little information.

Hoping to find a compendium of performance how-to's for 1969-1989 911s, I discovered it highlights 1969-73 only, with the author's 1970 as the main subject. It's more of a step-by-step description of what the author had done to his vehicle.

I wish this book were titled "My odyssey building up a 911S" instead of "Porsche 911 Performance."

I own many books on 911's and this one is does a pretty good job of summarizing some useful modifications in an easy to read, home mechanic way. There are many modifications out there for 911's and this book is the authors opinion on a 'good setup' for a 911, which is exactly what the author intended it to be. Overall worth buying if your just getting into a 911, but nothing new for some of the seasoned hard core enthusiasts. Happy with the book, keeping it.

One of the best books in print on modifying a 911 for performance driving. A good fun read too. A great collection of practical info, leasons learned and project details. If you've ever considered building a 911 track car, you must get this book.

This book is a must read for anyone who owns or even just admires an early, mid, or late year 911 and enjoys its performance.

Simply stated; the writing is engaging, the story is irresistible, and the information is priceless. Rossi could be anyone of us Porsche fans- except he has gone through this and is an excellent writer.

Rossi details his thirty year history with a 1970 911S bought in 1978. Making it safe, rebuilding a worn engine, then neglect. Back on the street after cleaning it up with a brake and suspension rebuild, a repaint and fun track events. Then he details an incredible transformation to a Club Racer with new engine, brakes, tranny, aerodynamic and lightweight parts, coil-over suspension and safety gear. Along the way we learn what he learned about the car and the best way to modify it into what he wanted and could afford. Rossi frequently reminds us that driving skill and practice are the best opportunity to improve a car's track performance.

I would have liked more data on how long the various phases and steps too, as well as some price information (must have been a bundle). Interior pictures are B&W, but the photos are interesting and very clear.
Buy or borrow this book - it is a great read.

As an owner of 2000 Boxster'S', this book provided me with detail history, easy to read. Gathering of the press reviews in one place is also very helpful. This book is technical enough for auto enthusiasts and new owner that needs to know more of their vehicle.

Some of the terminologies are British and needs to get used to. Some cars illustrated have RHS steering wheel. Pictures and drawings are clear.

I recommend to anyone who owns a Boxster.

Great value, I like books that have lots of technical data as well as general information. This certainly qualifies in these areas with good coverage and pictures from development of design through to latest model. Top value book for Boxster owner or enthusiast.

A good read and a useful balance of technical and historical information on the Boxster; a notable ommission however was any information about the 2004 Boxster S Anniversary Edition (a.k.a. Boxster 550 Spyder).

Paul Frere is a great author, and there isn't much that he doesn't know about Porsches. This book, however, appears to be a work in progress.

Compared to his excellent book "Porsche 911 Story", this book is just too fluffy. Yes, there are some tidbits of great information in here and technical data that you won't find anywhere else. But all this is buried under too many pretty pictures (taken directly from the Porsche sales brochures) and too many pages of excerpts from car magazine reviews. Plus there are some annoying mistakes: for example, the book claims that the center radiator exists only in those S models that are equipped with Tiptronic.

Nonetheless, this is the best book on the Boxster that I am aware of - and at less than $25, you can't really go wrong. But a "911 Story" it is not!

I too purchased this expecting that it would be similar in scope and quality to Frere's 911 book, which is a detailed and authoritative history of that model's development.

Unfortunately this book contains very little that is not already common and widespread knowledge, such as the fact that the original Boxster shared its entire front end with the 996 variant of the 911. Indeed, most of what is written here could easily be derived from the brochures and press kits accompanying each new Boxster model. The scanty text is padded with dozens of photos and drawings obviously obtained from Porsche.

Frere's book seems to be a cynical attempt by the publisher to capitalize on his name and reputation, and sadly it does neither any favors. For real aficionados the definitive story of the Boxster can be found instead in Karl Ludvigsen's excellent three-volume "Porsche: Excellence was Expected."

This book has some wonderful photos, and Adler writes well. However, this is not a comprehensive history of the 911 in any sense. It appears to be a collection of articles on the 911 edited into a book, and it skips large periods of the 911's history. Look at the table of contents and the sample pages before you buy it - if those topics are favorites of yours, you'll enjoy the book. If you want a year-by-year history, there are several other books that would be better choices.

Yes, the pictures are good and the years and models that are covered are done well, but what about the late seventies and eighties models? There is a year-to-year change summary at the end of the book, but that's all there is for the missing years.
It just seems like there is a chapter or two missing.

Really nice pictures but the text gets a bit redundant and doesn't go into a lot of detail other than the changes made from year to year. Worth the price for the pictures though.

The photos are what makes this a four star book. The book has nice, but brief, text on Porsche history and racing.

The book covers cars from the 60's through the late 90's 993. There is a short section on the water-cooled 996. One thing the book is missing is coverage of the 80's cars. The book goes right from the 60's-70's into special editions and the 993s.

Overall the book is worth the price of admission because of the photos but don't expect much technical detail.

Nice boxster history, pictures of the boxster factory, but a little out dates at this time. I would invest in a newer boxster book.

For a Porsche Boxter lover, this is fascinating collection of facts. You will find the entire history of the making of this superb car, with great pictures. A must !

This is a coffee table book, a quick read with lots of pictures. In that sense it is a good book, but for those who are seriously considering a boxter, this book leaves more questions than answers.

WHEN I PURCHASED THIS BOOK,I DID NOT REALIZE THE INFORMATION WAS DATED.THE BOOK WAS PRINTED BEFORE THE HIGHER POWERED S MODEL WAS SOLD TO THE PUBLIC IN 2000.IF YOU ARE IN THE MARKET FOR AN S BOXSTER,THE INFORMATION IN THE BOOK IS OK FOR BASIC INFO,BUT FALLS SHORT IN HELPING TO MAKE A PURCHASE FOR A MORE CURRENT CAR.

Hundreds of B&W photos. Describes model changes in each year. Not enough detail to perform restoration. Appendix provides a quick reference to options, colors, wheels, chassis numbers. (I did find at least one minor error...the color of my '89 is listed as available only on '87 and '88)

This was an excellent reference! The pictures identifying the differences, between everything from trim pieces to gauges, made it very easy to discern model and year changes. FYI this is mostly for asthetics and options. Not a lot of focus on mechanicals.

Porsches tend to get 'modified' over time, as owners add little touches they think are wonderful, or simply replace parts with the cheapest thing available. This book, part of the Authenticity Series by Beeman Jorgensen, Inc., gives tons of nice black and white photos and listings of what accoutrements came on specific model year 911's, 912E's and 930's. I've used it several times to identify trim pieces and fitment of items for myself and customers. Like the other books in this series, it doesn't do much about mechanical pieces, concentrating on trim and such, but if you want information on mechanicals, there are other books available for that (like the Parts & Technical Reference manuals or Bruce Anderson's book). This will get your car LOOKING right!

I found this book to be quite disappointing, especially at its premium price. The poor translation and countless typos make me wonder if they had anyone proof-read the final draft before they printed the English edition. The photos are good but the text and choice of subject matter are questionable.

as the name implies, this book is fantastic. it traces back the biography of Ferry Porsche close to 1889 and the history of Porsche as well. be aware that this book is a great centerpiece for people to thumb through, but only the true Porshe enthusiast will love it!

A cut-above the normal coffee-table automobile book, distinguished not only by beautiful photography, but also by some inspired prose (marred only by occasional translation errors and typos). Those familiar with the elaborate style of, for instance, Claus-Peter Becker in auto, motor und sport will recognize his writing even through the English translation. For those of us who grew up dreaming of Le Mans, and of the curious long-tailed cars which duelled through the night, the chapter on the 917 brings the brute force of it's 12-cylinder engine to life in your hands. Less impressive at first glance, but perhaps equally important to the success of Porsche as a marque is the story of the people behind the cars - engineers and drivers alike. I look forward to a revised edition of the book with a little less emphasis on the rich people who drive Porsches, the splendour of the German text recreated and one or two of the omissions (Speedster, 924 Carrera, 944/968; and drivers such as Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx) included.

It's really the only English language workshop manual for owners, so there's not a lot of choice. It's a good idea to get this if you intend to do anything more than a plug change or coolant top up yourself. My criticisms are mainly that it's light on illustrations, and sometimes refers in the text to photos that don't seem to be there. Some operations are also inadequately detailed, can't think of one at the moment but occasionally you'll see "remove [part]" without any hints as to how. Not very often though and in general it's pretty idiot proof, although it's important to remember that things that might sound easy in the manual (like removing a bearing cap) can be near impossible on a 26 year old car! Finally, the publisher's a bit iffy with production so make sure you order from someone who has it in stock, I had a bad experience through Amazon Germany before getting it from U.S. Amazon with no problems (backorder vs. in stock).

The Haynes manual covers all aspects of service and repairs of your 924 and lets you follow a complete disassembly/reassembly of the car in text and pictures.

The book does have a few faults, and lacks some details here and there, but overall it gives you a great insight in how the car works and what it takes to do repairs.

Combine this book with the 924 Workshop manual, the PET (Porsche Electronic parts guide), Bosch Fuel Injection and Engine Management, and participate at www.924board.org, and you will be equipped with all the info you need to do any kind of repairs or restoration on your Porsche 924 or 924 Turbo.

It's possible to learn everything about the 924 without this book, but reading this book first will get you there 10 times faster. Recomended!

You get a good overview of the different parts of a 924, including the turbo (931). I like the clear way things are described. I think however that the photos in the book should be in colour. But at this price, maybe I'm asking too much. I would buy it again (and I will probably for the 944)

Ok, the 968 section could be beefier, but the rest of the stuff is all there, options, colors, production data, pictures, etc. You'll love it.

This book is a valuable resource for someone wanting to become familiar with the front engined Porsche. The history and specs for the 924 and 944 is fairly detailed up to 1989. Some details for the S2 (1990-1991) are somewhat sketchy as the book was published in '89. If you're thinking of buying, the book provides great info about what problems the various models and years exhibited, as well as what to investigate closely, depending upon model and year.

The pictures are nearly all in black and white, but even the rare models are detailed, with photos included. I bought my S2 based largely upon the info provided by Morgan. You won't be sorry about your purchase equipped with his advice.

924/944 owners will enjoy owning this book because there really aren't that many books on the 924/944 compared to the 911. This book has got plenty of pretty photos and the introduction to the model histories is readable. The appendices are particularly interesting (for example, showing you how to decipher the Porsche serial numbers). It seems a great gift book for 924/944 owners. The author should have quit while he was ahead and left this book as an enthusiast's picture book.

Unfortunately, the author ambitiously attempted to make this book a manual by introducing chapters on the car mechanicals and systems - and these chapters are woefully inadequate. They explain very briefly and very poorly the cars' engine, fuel, cooling systems etc. The information is very superficial and offers owners no help whatsoever in maintaining or repairing the cars. These chapters (over half the book) are a complete waste of time for owners hoping to seriously learn about the workings of their cars. Serious owners would do much, much better buying the Haynes Manual.

As it stands, the book is neither here nor there: useless as a practical manual, and with value as a pretty picture book diluted by the useless chapters.