Rare Cars: The World's Most Exclusive Rides

Over time, great craftsmen have risen to build a small number of cars that blur the line between utensil and art. Assouline's coffee-table book "Rare Cars: The World's Most Exclusive Rides," compiled by noted automotive journalist and A.J. Baime, contains more than forty cars produced between 1931 and the present, many of which can fetch tens of millions of dollars. Whether you are a current or aspiring collector, or simply a fan of unique vehicles, this volume offers readers the next best thing to getting behind the wheel yourself.

From Japan to Detroit and England to Turin - the 'Rare Cars' coffee table book features all the famous makes, from the Toyota 200GT Roadster built for the Bond film You Only Live Twice to James Dean's infamous Porsche 550 Spyder and one of Ralph Lauren's favorite Ferraris.

Some of the cars in this book are considered art because of their engine, such as the first Ferrari (the 1947 125 S) powered by the revolutionary Colombo V-12, which was victorious in races. Some of these cars are so unique that they border on the bizarre, such as the 24-carat gold-plated DeLorean, part of a promotion with American Express in 1980. Other cars fetch big prices, such as the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which sold for a world record $142 million. And then there is the new wave of cars - think a cult electric model conceived by a Croatian teenager (the Rimac Nevera Time Attack) to a car so exclusive that when a driver crashed one in 2022, it became international news (the Pagani Zonda Barchetta).

All these cars have two things in common: timeless beauty and shocking rarity. They all exist in so few copies that you'll be lucky if you ever come across one in real life. And all of them are about pioneering technical ideas, world-conquering racing pedigree and sculptural perfection.

To pay homage to the materials of these iconic cars, the book's hardcover is adorned with a mounted metal title plate and made of rubber, lightly scented with an exclusively made rubber-infused essence. The luxurious clamshell is handcrafted in sleek metal with an interior covered in hand-stitched Italian leather.

Specifications
Title: Rare Cars: The World's Most Exclusive Rides
Author: A.J. Baime
Publisher: Assouline
Size: 410 x 480 x 80 mm
Size: 304 pages
Weight: 10 Kg
Language: English
Material: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781649803948

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