Product Review

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the Trans-Am Sedan championship, or Trans-Am, which held its first event in March 1966. A new book from David Bull Publishing brings back all the speed, excitement and intrigue of this classic road racing series during its greatest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Trans-Am Era: The Golden Years in Photographs, 1966-1972 uses hundreds of photographs along with detailed captions to deliver a year-by-year, race-by-race account of the Trans-Am's first seven seasons. The focus is on the iconic over two-liter pony cars that attracted the most attention from fans and support from Detroit; the Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, Pontiac Firebirds, AMC Javelins, and Dodge Challengers that were hot sellers at the time and remain instantly recognizable today. Driving these machines were many of the top names in American motorsport, including technically sophisticate sports-car driver Mark Donohue, Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones, and all-around driving aces Dan Gurney and Peter Revson.

Along with its abundant images, Trans-Am Era offers detailed captions and season summaries that chronicle the Trans-Am's gradual rise and sudden fall. Author Daniel Lipetz conducted years of research that sheds new light on the series and uncovers previously unknown facts about individual cars, races, and drivers. And the book starts off with a foreword by legendary driver Parnelli Jones, whose five Trans-Am victories secured the Manufacturers' Championship for Ford in 1970.