Wide-Open Muscle: The Rarest Muscle Car Convertibles - Hardcover

Leffingwell, Randy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760350019 ISBN 13: 9780760350010

Publisher: Motorbooks, 2016

Synopsis

Climb inside these stunning muscle car drop-tops, straight from the classic era of American high-performance cars!

Today's rarest, priciest, and most highly sought-after muscle cars are also the least practical. These are the striking convertibles of the 1960s and 1970s that were optioned out for drag racing. Wide-Open Muscle showcases these rare cars and proves that sometimes it pays to throw practicality out the window in order to make something purely cool and fun to drive.

At the peak of drag racing popularity, it was common knowledge that racers needed the lightest, most rigid-framed cars available. Convertibles represent the exact opposite of that description, so it's amazing that these drop tops ever emerged amid the circle of full-throttle dragsters. While typical convertible drivers cruised around listening to the latest Lovin' Spoonful release in the eight-track tape deck, these muscle-car convertibles were equipped for rock 'n' roll speed. These topless muscle cars are so rare because few people had the dedication (or money) to buy a vehicle this impractical. They're valuable because they represent the absolute extreme of the entire muscle-car genre.

All the cars in Wide-Open Muscle are shot in similar fashion, studio-style with a black background using a process known as light painting. It is the ultimate portrayal of the ultimate muscle cars.

About this title

About the Author

Randy Leffingwell wrote his first book, American Muscle, in 1989 while still on staff at the Los Angeles Times. Since then, he has authored another 47 titles for Motorbooks and its sister publisher Voyageur Press covering subjects from sports cars to motorcycles to farm tractors. Leffingwell is considered one of the top Corvette historians working today, and he enjoys a close working relationship with Chevrolet as well numerous other manufacturers. His  previous Corvette titles include Art of the Corvette; Corvette Fifty Years, Corvette 60 Years, and Legendary Corvette. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Tom Loeser has worked as a Firefighter for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (now known as CAL Fire), as a graphic designer and photographer, and as chief photographer for the Long Beach Grand Prix. Since 2012 he has worked full-time as a book photographer provided images for Motorbooks titles Art of the Corvette, Art of the Mustang, Wide-Open Muscle, and Classic Motorcycles: Art of the Speed. His next book, The Art of Mopar: Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth Muscle Cars, is in production.

Review

"This big book will become a favorite because of the large photos and presentation. Loeser uses a light-painting process for a result that is just saturated in color and depth."

- San Diego Union Tribune

"Writer Randy Leffingwell , along with photographer Tom Loeser gained access to one of the world's finest muscle car collections there is, the Brothers Collection, full of rare muscle car convertibles. This collection is private and not open to the public, so it is a real treat to see these cars. All the cars are shot in similar fashion, studio-style with a black background using a process perfected by Leffingwell and Loeser they call light-painting. The result is an awesome collection of images of some of the rarest and most exotic muscle cars on the planet. The book is divided into three sections: Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Six to eight pages are dedicated to each car with a well-written, enjoyable to read text complemented by jaw-dropping photos."

- Examiner.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Motorbooks
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0760350019
• ISBN 13: 9780760350010
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224