Bucciali

by Christian Huet ISBN 2 9500432 3 2 Published by Editions Christian Huet. €79

Considering the Bucciali brothers built a mere handful of cars, this thick volume must have the highest pages-per-chassis ratio going. But Huet doesn’t restrict himself to the cars; the book covers the family’s history, war record, aeroplanes and engineering, including GP cars.

It’s the exaggerated showcars of 1928-31 for which we recall their name, but as Huet makes clear the brothers were inventive engineers, pioneering front-wheel drive and proposing a 4WD racing coupe, a double-ended armoured car and a turbine GP racer. What they were not good at was getting customers — or backers.

Huet’s intense research includes drawings, documents and family photos of this remarkable pair and their fascinating projects.