{"product_id":"inside-imsas-legendary-gtp-race-cars-the-prototype-experience","title":"Inside IMSA's Legendary GTP Race Cars - The Prototype Experience","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors: J.A.Martin and Michael J. Fuller, Hardbound, 256 Pages, ISBN: 9780760330692, First Edition, 2008 - **VERY RARE BOOK IN UNREAD CONDITION**\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional automobile racing has always been dominated by sanctioning bodies whose main goal is to ensure fair competition.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eToday's major race series—NASCAR, F1, and Champ Car—achieve this by restricting the car's designers and engineers.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNASCAR mandates all their cars' body shapes conform to a specific template and requires that engines be of a particular size.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eF 1 teams can choose from a limited number of chassis\/engine combinations. And Champ Car teams don't get to choose anything except how to tune the single chassis\/engine combination available to them.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile parity might make for \"fair\" competition, it often creates uninspired racing. So what happens when the rules arc slackened? When creativity and novel design are encouraged?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThose were the questions posed by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) for its Grand Touring Prototypes (GTP) race series, which ran from 1981 to 1993.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe result was a stunning variety of racing machines, each with its own highly sophisticated technology. Every car was a unique solution to a common problem: getting around the racetrack fastest. In the end, each car was an automotive testimony to its engineer's philosophy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvery decision had consequences. A V-12 allowed better ground-effect tunnels, but had a higher center of gravity (CG). A flat six had a low CG, but severely restricted   ground-ffect tunnels.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEach designer used a different combination of wings, air dams, and other aerodynamic tools to keep his car glued to the track. It was an cngineering free-for-all, the culmination of almost a century of automobile racing experience. And, sadly, it was a spectacle unlikely to be duplicated.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInside IMSA's Legendary GTP Race Cars tells the full story of these mechanical marvels.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing photography, diagrams, drawings, and first-person accounts from the men who built and raced these highly advanced cars, the authors offer a detailed look at the technology of 14 of the most competitive cars that contested the series.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt's the story of no-holds-barred racing, the kind true racing enthusiasts can only dream of today.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJ. A. Martin has been an automotive journalist for over 25 years and wrote Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHe lives in Baltimore, Maryland.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMichael J. Fuller is a wind tunnel model technician with Panoz\/Elan Motorsports Technology. He has previously worked for racing notables Downing\/Atlanta, Riley \u0026amp; Scott, Reynard, and C\u0026amp;B International in composite lamination and wind tunnel model making.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHe lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Motorbooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47628424872156,"sku":"9780760330692","price":299.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0814\/8297\/3404\/files\/9780760330692__12970.1483586917.1280.1280.jpg?v=1772097752","url":"https:\/\/automotobookshop.com.au\/products\/inside-imsas-legendary-gtp-race-cars-the-prototype-experience","provider":"Automoto Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}