Founded by John Heath and George Abecassis, the HWM racing team set out
in 1950, the year of the Formula 1 World Championship's inauguration, to
race its Formula 2 cars all over Europe in a unique British endeavour.
Always run on a shoestring, HWM's single-seaters achieved great results
in flying the flag with mainly British drivers, most notably young
Stirling Moss. In 1954 the team turned to sports cars, sometimes beating
its Jaguar and Aston Martin works competitors, but Heath's death in the
1956 Mille Miglia was a tragic setback and the following year the team
was wound up. Through the focus of HWM, this book paints an evocative
picture of a period that marked the beginnings of Britain's prowess in
motor racing.
- The boxed set includes two beautifully bound hardcover volumes. Volume
1 covers the story of the racing (1946-57) and Volume 2 covers the 19
individual cars and the men who raced them (1948-58).
- The beginnings of HWM (the initials of the garage Hersham and Walton
Motors) and the two key characters behind the team -- smooth, sanguine
George Abecassis and mercurial, parsimonious John Heath.
- Racing the single-seaters around Europe (1950-53) with Stirling Moss,
Lance Macklin and Peter Collins among the drivers.
- Switching to sports cars (1954-57), competing in Britain and across
Europe, sometimes beating the big names.
- The individual histories of all the HWMs made are told in full,
complete with their specifications and ownership chains.
- Coverage includes biographies of many of the fascinating and poignant
people associated with HWM.
- Packed with superb period photos sourced from libraries and private
collections all over the world.
