This book by prize-winning author Karl Ludvigsen offers auto enthusiasts a time-travelling adventure in its description of the evolution of the V-8 engine. It begins more than a century ago when Rolls-Royce built one of the world's first V-8 engines. The saga races through decades of engineering experiment and creativity as Bentley, famed for its racing exploits at Le Mans, exploited the exotic potential of supercharging. When the fortunes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley combined in the 1950s, both needed a new engine, and hitherto-secret reports and exclusive interviews take the reader behind the scenes of the new V-8's creation. Further evolution came with Bentley's need for a sporting engine, leading to the development of turbo-supercharging and the introduction of the 300-horsepower Mulsanne Turbo in 1982, the first big high-performance saloon. Here too the reader rides with the engineers as they make this significant advance in car design. At the end of the twentieth century, after a tug-of-war with BMW, Bentley found itself part of the Volkswagen Group, and the resources of its new owner helped bring Bentley's new Great Eight to heights of performance and perfection.
