Books by Johnny Tipler

The story of the Lotus marque encompasses ongoing technical innovation on road and track, from the Mark 1 in 1948 to the World’s most powerful electric hypercar – the Evija – in 2021. Founded in 1952 from Colin Chapman’s hobby, Lotus flourished by producing aerodynamically brilliant lightweight sports-racing cars, progressing into Formula 1 in 1958. Jim Clark and Team Lotus won the 1963 and 1965 F1 World Championships for Drivers and Constructors, as well as the Indianapolis 500. Jochen Rindt won the 1970 World Championship posthumously for Gold Leaf Team Lotus, and in 1972, Emerson Fittipaldi was F1 World Champion driving the JPS Type 72, with the Team winning the Constructors’ prize in 1972 and 1973. Mario Andretti won the F1 World Championship for JPS Team Lotus in 1978 but, surprisingly, this proved to be their last of seven F1 World Championship wins.   On the road, the Elite showcased the brand from 1957. Next, the Elan was a fine-handling fibreglass-bodied sports car, while the Seven provided exhilarating motoring for DIY enthusiasts. The 1963 Lotus Cortina was a fast road car and a success on track. The Elan Plus 2 was built alongside the Elan two-seater and Europa, and in 1974 the road car range went upmarket, powered by Lotus’s own engines, with the Elite Mk 2 and Éclat, and the mid-engined Esprit produced between 1976 and 2004.  Tragedy struck with the sudden death of Colin Chapman in December 1982, aged 54. General Motors acquired Group Lotus in 1986, selling up to Romano Artioli’s Bugatti in 1993, enabling the ground-breaking Elise to launch in 1996. Ownership of Group Lotus passed to Malaysian car maker Proton, and in 2000, the Series 2 Elise and the Exige were released, maturing gradually over the next twenty years. The Toyota V6-powered Evora was announced in 2006. In 2017, Group Lotus was acquired by the global automotive company Geely, ushering in a fresh, financially secure era. Launched in 2020, the 2,000bhp all-electric Evija became the new Lotus flagship. Lotus blossoms anew. 

Named after Elisa, the granddaughter of Lotus's owner at the time, Romano Artioli of Bugatti fame, the Lotus Elise was launched at the Frankfurt Show in 1995. In the subsequent twenty-five years it has not only established itself as the embodiment of what Lotus stands for, it retains a unique place in the international sports car market. The Elise story is one of steady evolution. The original car, conceptually a true Lotus complying exactly with the mantra ‘performance through light weight’, employed traditional Lotus construction practices, based on a radically innovative extruded aluminum chassis. The Series 1 Elise opened the gates for the Series 2 (S2) model and its principal derivative sibling, the more track-focussed Exige, and the concept matured steadily, with powertrain revisions, styling facelifts and chassis modifications though the next two decades. No other manufacturer came up with a car to seriously rival the Elise, nor the Exige, in terms of handling dexterity on both road and racetrack, and it aptly characterizes the definition of a sports car.  

Porsche applied turbocharging to its racing cars in 1972 and, within a year, this technology had crossed over into its production cars: the first road-going 911 Turbo was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1973. Johnny Tipler tells the story of the air-cooled turbocharged 911s, starting with the 934 and 935 race cars that fostered the Type 930 in 1974. the 930 accounted for over 21,000 vehicle sales before being replaced by the 964 Turbo in 1990, followed by the 993 Turbo in 1995. With 300 colour photographs, many taken specially by renowned photographer Antony Fraser this book also presents exclusive interviews with Klaus Ludwig, Jochen Mass and Nick Heidfeld, as well as including full specification tables for each key model type. Foreword is by Alois Ruf.

The complete story of the innovative, iconic and enduring Porsche Carrera. This book takes the reader on a journey from the development of its risky water-cooled design through its racing success and continued production today, to practical maintenance and modification. This book is a true homage to the Porsche Carrera and covers the concept, design and evolution of the 996,997 and 991, including an interview with harm Lagaaji, stylist in the Porsche design studios. Other interviews include racing drivers - past and present - Mike Wilds, Timo Bernhard, Richard Attwood, Richard Westbrook, Mario Andretti, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Wolf Henzler, Brendon Hartley and Peter Dumbreck. There is also a section on how to buy, maintain and modify a Porsche Carrera.

Follows the development and design of the Carrrera car dynasty, from the origins of the Carrera line in the 550 and 356 models through the highly tuned race cars of the 1960s to the largely hand-crafted, air-cooled cars of the 1970s and the 1980s.