Ultimate Collector Cars: a century of automotive desire in two volumes
Taschen's definitive anthology gathers one hundred of the world's most coveted automobiles, from the pioneering Mercedes Simplex of 1903 to the futuristic McLaren Speedtail of 2020, rendered through the lenses of the world's finest automotive photographers.
AI-assisted voice playback. Starts only when you choose Play.
Taschen’s new double volume edition, Ultimate Collector Cars, is a love letter to mechanical beauty rendered in the language of photography. Across these volumes, one hundred of the most remarkable and desirable automobiles are presented not as mere specifications or historical records, but as objects of genuine desire, each one captured in stunning imagery by the world’s leading automotive photographers.
The collection spans more than a century of motoring history, beginning with the landmark 1903 Mercedes Simplex 40 hp, a pioneer of speed and engineering that helped define the modern motor car. From there, the anthology traces the evolution of desire through some of the most consequential and beautiful machines ever built. The crimson Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B MM Spider of 1938 embodies Italian elegance and racing pedigree, its sensuous curves captured in perfect light. The Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic of 1936, with its distinctive torpedo shape and aeronautical ambitions, speaks to an era when cars and aircraft drew inspiration from the same visionary impulse.
The photographers, including the celebrated Michael Furman, have captured not merely metal and mechanics but the soul of engineering: the burnished folds of bodywork, the precision of grilles and headlamps, the intricate stitching of handmade interiors. A close up of the McLaren F1 XP1 LM engine cover from 1995 reveals the obsessive detail of contemporary hypercar design, while decorative flourishes such as the Auburn ‘Icarus’ radiator cap mascot remind us that even functional elements were once treated as opportunities for artistry and whimsy.
The journey concludes with the 2020 McLaren Speedtail, a car that might belong to the future, its radical geometry a far remove from the graceful proportions of early twentieth century touring cars, yet equally possessed of the ambition to transcend ordinary motion.
Ultimate Collector Cars is available through Taschen’s website and in selected retail locations.
Imagery courtesy of Taschen (@taschen).
