The HWM Book

Part No: 978-1-910505-32-8

In Stock

JOHN, GEORGE AND THE HWMS

THE FIRST RACING TEAM TO FLY THE FLAG FOR BRITAIN

By Simon Taylor

In 1950, John Heath and George Abecassis embarked on a British venture, racing their single-seater Formula 2 cars all over Europe. The mostly British team were successful in 'flying the flag' for Britain, the not-yet notorious Stirling Moss among them.

A few years later, the team decided to focus their efforts on sports cars, still competing successfully among other brands such as Jaguar and Aston Martin.

The tragic death of Heath - whilst racing his own race car, the 1956 Mille Miglia - was the beginning of the end for the production of HWM racing cars. Abecassis swore to never race again, and he never did.

This two-volume masterpiece illustrates in great detail the story of HWM from its inception, with all the triumphs and tribulations experienced along the way, as well as the significant role HWM played in introducing Britain to the sport

• 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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For over 50 years, Simon Taylor has worked as a motor sport journalist, commentator, historian and publisher. By the age of 23 he was editor of Autosport magazine, where his career took off. After launching multiple car magazines, he went on to become Marketing Director and later Chairman of Haymarket Magazines.

Taylor's voice is instantly recognisable- he was BBC Radio's Formula 1 reporter for more than 20 years. He himself owns an orignial HWM, named the Stovebolt Special.