Automobiles are more than just commodities used for moving from one place to another. In fact, numerous vehicles have either gained cult status, or they have become the object of automobile desire, or they have written technological history. What is frequently forgotten, however, is the fact that a car is not only a piece of nicely shaped metal on four wheels but that it also has a fiery heart in the shape of an engine beating inside it. And there has hardly been another invention which has influenced the 20th century the same way the combustion engine has.

This book is an homage to both the combustion engine and the fascination that is the automobile. It presents more than 85 engine classics as well as the corresponding vehicles.

However, it is not just about vehicle legends which have celebrated great victories in racing but also about those cars and their engines which have got special stories to tell.