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High Performance: When Britain Ruled the Roads
‘A band of stubborn pioneers rose from the embers of Britain’s cities after the war and created the finest automobiles the world had ever seen... High Performance tells the exhilarating tale of their journey’ Ben Collins, bestselling author of How To Drive‘High Performance is a cracking read and an adrenaline-packed tribute to the time when British mavericks “blew the bloody doors off” the competition’ Sunday TimesIn January 1964, a team of tiny red and white Mini Coopers stunned the world by winning the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. It was a stellar year for British cars that culminated in Goldfinger breaking box office records and making James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 the world’s most famous sports car.By the sixties, on road, track and silver screen the Brits were the ones to beat, winning Formula One championships and capturing hearts. Designers like John Cooper, and Colin Chapman of Lotus, dismissed as mere ‘garagisti’ by Enzo Ferrari, grabbed all the prizes, while Alex Issigonis won a knighthood for his revolutionary Mini. The E Type Jaguar was feted as the world’s sexiest car and Land Rover the most durable.But before the war only one British car had triumphed in a Grand Prix; Britain’s car builders were fiercely risk-averse. So what changed? To find out, Peter Grimsdale has gone in search of a generation of rebel creative spirits who emerged from railway arches and Nissen huts to tear up the rulebook with their revolutionary machines. Like the serial fugitives from the POW camps, they thrived on adversity, improvisation and sheer obstinate determination. High Performance celebrates Britain’s automotive golden age and the mavericks who sketched them on the back of envelopes and garage floors, who fettled, bolted and welded them together and hammered the competition in the showroom, on the road and on the track – fuelled by contempt for convention.
- GenresNonfiction
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 16, 2019
About the author
Peter Grimsdale
8 books13 followersI grew up in Sheffeld, attended a variety of schools including Bedales in Hampshire and East Brunswick High in New Jersey. I went on to Sussex and Georgetown Universities where I read American Studies and started writing short stories. I joined the BBC in 1980 and worked on everything from Crimewatch UK to a history of the Falklands War. I also did a spell in Enva Hoxha's Albania on a secret filming assignment about an MI5/CIA mission there that went horribly wrong. In 1984 I was sent to Sri Lanka for the Real Lives series to report on the uprising against the Tamils and the diary I kept of that time became the basis for Perfect Night. I moved on to Channel 4 where I was head of History,Religion and Features and indulged my passion for cars in several programme commissions. I also found myself in charge of Big Brother 3, the one that gave the world Jade Goody. After a brief foray into the brave new world of Yahoo (source of the sacking scene in Perfect Night), I returned to TV as a freelancer but determined to write. Perfect Night was the result. My two biggest infuences were and still are my wife Stephanie Calman (see Badmothersclub.com)and my agent Mark Lucas who showed what thriller writing was all about.
Just Watch Me came about after a bad day at Gatwick Airport discovering that my then five year old daughter's passport had expired and instead of heading for Tobago I found myself in Durham where the only passport office in the land would give me a replacement over the counter. Set in Britain Tobago and Afghanistan, it tells the story of a man who loses his family and has to go on the run while he tries to find out why.
My last two books Battlefield 3 - The Russian (with Andy McNab)and Battlefield 4 - Countdown to War have been written in association with Electronic Arts, publishers of the Battlefield global game franchise. To EA's great credit they gave me the space to develop an autonomous story using some the games' characters and situations as launch pads for stand-alone narratives. You do not have to be a 'gamer' (I'm not - there, I've confessed)to enjoy them, in fact you don't need to know anthing at all about the games or how it relates to the books. But if you find them via the games they should add to your appreciation of the characters who pass through.
Just Watch Me came about after a bad day at Gatwick Airport discovering that my then five year old daughter's passport had expired and instead of heading for Tobago I found myself in Durham where the only passport office in the land would give me a replacement over the counter. Set in Britain Tobago and Afghanistan, it tells the story of a man who loses his family and has to go on the run while he tries to find out why.
My last two books Battlefield 3 - The Russian (with Andy McNab)and Battlefield 4 - Countdown to War have been written in association with Electronic Arts, publishers of the Battlefield global game franchise. To EA's great credit they gave me the space to develop an autonomous story using some the games' characters and situations as launch pads for stand-alone narratives. You do not have to be a 'gamer' (I'm not - there, I've confessed)to enjoy them, in fact you don't need to know anthing at all about the games or how it relates to the books. But if you find them via the games they should add to your appreciation of the characters who pass through.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 27, 2020
An engrossing and highly readable account of the British Motor industry in its design heyday and the legacy that has developed from The Second World War through to today's position as a world centre of motor racing development.
This at a time when our large scale production of everyday cars has almost disappeared save for foreign owned BMW Minis, Toyota's factory, Nissan at Sunderland and, of course Vauxhall.
There remains, however, a vigorous range of smaller companies making utterly brilliant cars from the Morgan three-wheeler's historic quirkiness through high performance cars to kit cars, bonkers small sports cars and a whole thriving business of high quality conversions, electric cars and vans and many more.
The star cars and their designers all appear with their back stories! The Mini and the E-Type Jaguar, the Aston Martin DB5, Lotus delights, the burble of MG exhausts, the Land Rovers and Range Rovers and even the Morris Minor. Plus all those classics so beautifully displayed at the British Motor Museum, credited by the author in the Acknowledgements section at the end.
The journey through this cracking history accelerates off from the start and barrels through the years covering the ups and downs, the spills and thrills of motor racing and the personalities who both drove and braked the development along the way to the present day. Fascinating stuff!!!
Brilliant! Loved it!!.......
This at a time when our large scale production of everyday cars has almost disappeared save for foreign owned BMW Minis, Toyota's factory, Nissan at Sunderland and, of course Vauxhall.
There remains, however, a vigorous range of smaller companies making utterly brilliant cars from the Morgan three-wheeler's historic quirkiness through high performance cars to kit cars, bonkers small sports cars and a whole thriving business of high quality conversions, electric cars and vans and many more.
The star cars and their designers all appear with their back stories! The Mini and the E-Type Jaguar, the Aston Martin DB5, Lotus delights, the burble of MG exhausts, the Land Rovers and Range Rovers and even the Morris Minor. Plus all those classics so beautifully displayed at the British Motor Museum, credited by the author in the Acknowledgements section at the end.
The journey through this cracking history accelerates off from the start and barrels through the years covering the ups and downs, the spills and thrills of motor racing and the personalities who both drove and braked the development along the way to the present day. Fascinating stuff!!!
Brilliant! Loved it!!.......
February 24, 2020
Really well written and fascinating history of the British automotive industry. From the lows to the highs and back again, with many side stories. I personally really like the flow of the book from chapter to chapter, and that both the everyday and motorsport sides are well covered.
April 21, 2020
This book is excellent. Peter Grimsdale has done an excellent job. There was plenty that was new to me and the parts that weren't were done well enough to keep me glued to the page. Highly recommended to anyone interested in cars and motorsport.
September 13, 2025
Just a really good retrospective on the British motoring industry and how a few very iconic cars came to be, and the people behind them
June 2, 2021
Brilliant, the best account by far of Britain’s post-war car and racing industries. Well written, entertaining, funny and a real tribute to some fantastic individuals, it feels like the passion project by the author it clearly was meant to be. Great stuff.
May 31, 2026
This is the second book by Peter Grimsdale that I have read. It is the first one written by the British author about the world of motoring, although the period it covers comes later chronologically than that of his subsequent work, Racing in the Dark, so in terms of the chronology of their content, it can be said that I have read them in the correct order.
The structure and style are very similar to those of the previous book, with prose that is clear and descriptive while remaining rigorous in its attention to detail. The various chapters deal with topics that are, on the one hand, somewhat independent, but on the other are linked together, often with the end of one chapter leading into the beginning of the next through the introduction of a new character who then becomes the protagonist of the following pages.
As someone with a good knowledge of the history of motor racing during the period covered by the book, there is very little in its account of the racing world that I found genuinely new. Nevertheless, I found the broad perspective it offers on the rise of British manufacturers and drivers in the decades following the Second World War very interesting. In many cases, I was already familiar with the individual stories it tells, but seeing the connections between them gives them greater depth. If anything, I was surprised not to find any mention of Tony Brooks's victory for Connaught at Syracuse, the first entirely British triumph in a Grand Prix race, even if it was a non-championship event.
In addition to motor racing, which is my favourite aspect of the subject, the book also covers production cars. My knowledge in this area is much more limited, so the book provided me with a considerable number of details that were new to me.
In summary, I think this is a well-written book that reads very smoothly and provides an excellent overview of a period of great change in the motoring world, both in terms of production cars and racing machines. For a British reader, it may well leave a sense of nostalgia for those days when, as the book's subtitle puts it, British marques, teams and drivers "ruled the roads." That era has long since passed, although when it comes to the highest level of world motorsport, Great Britain remains the benchmark to this day.
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Este es el segundo libro que leo de Peter Grimsdale. Es el primero sobre el mundo del motor escrito por el autor británico pero la época que trata es posterior en el tiempo al tema de su siguiente obra, 'Racing in the dark', así que desde el punto de vista cronológico de su contenido se puede decir que los he leído en el orden correcto.
La estructura y el estilo es muy similar al anterior, con una prosa clara y descriptiva a la vez que rigurosa en los detalles. Los diferentes capítulos van tratando de asuntos que por un lado son en cierto modo independientes pero por otro se van encadenando dando paso en muchas ocasiones el final de un capítulo al inicio del siguiente a través de la entrada en escena de un nuevo personajes que pasa a ser el protagonista de las páginas que van a continuación.
Siendo un buen conocedor de la historia del deporte del automóvil en los años de los que trata la obra no hay apenas nada que me haya resultado novedoso en lo que relata al respecto del mundo de la competición pero de todas formas me ha parecido muy interesante la visión de conjunto que ofrece sobre el auge de los fabricantes y pilotos británicos en las décadas posteriores a la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En muchos casos las historias que va contando las conocía bien por separado pero la interrelación entre ellas les da una mayor profundidad. Si acaso me ha sorprendido no encontrar alusión alguno a la victoria de Tony Brooks con el Connaught en Siracusa, primer triunfo totalmente británico en una carrera de Gran Premio, aunque fuese una prueba no puntuable.
Además de la competiciones, que es mi apartado favorito, el libro trata también de los modelos de serie, apartado en el que mis conocimientos son mucho menores por lo que la lectura me ha aportado un buen número de detalles que desconocía.
En resumen me parece un libro bien escrito, que se lee de forma muy fluida y que ofrece un buen repaso general a una época llena de cambios en el mundo del motor, tanto en lo que respecta a los automóviles de serie como a los de competición. Para un lector británico tal vez acabe dejando un poso de nostalgia respecto a aquellos tiempos en los que, como dice el subtítulo del libro, sus marcas, equipos y pilotos 'dominaban las carreteras'. Época que hace tiempo ha quedado atrás aunque en lo que respecta a la máxima categoría del automovilismo mundial Gran Bretaña siga siendo hoy día el punto de referencia.
The structure and style are very similar to those of the previous book, with prose that is clear and descriptive while remaining rigorous in its attention to detail. The various chapters deal with topics that are, on the one hand, somewhat independent, but on the other are linked together, often with the end of one chapter leading into the beginning of the next through the introduction of a new character who then becomes the protagonist of the following pages.
As someone with a good knowledge of the history of motor racing during the period covered by the book, there is very little in its account of the racing world that I found genuinely new. Nevertheless, I found the broad perspective it offers on the rise of British manufacturers and drivers in the decades following the Second World War very interesting. In many cases, I was already familiar with the individual stories it tells, but seeing the connections between them gives them greater depth. If anything, I was surprised not to find any mention of Tony Brooks's victory for Connaught at Syracuse, the first entirely British triumph in a Grand Prix race, even if it was a non-championship event.
In addition to motor racing, which is my favourite aspect of the subject, the book also covers production cars. My knowledge in this area is much more limited, so the book provided me with a considerable number of details that were new to me.
In summary, I think this is a well-written book that reads very smoothly and provides an excellent overview of a period of great change in the motoring world, both in terms of production cars and racing machines. For a British reader, it may well leave a sense of nostalgia for those days when, as the book's subtitle puts it, British marques, teams and drivers "ruled the roads." That era has long since passed, although when it comes to the highest level of world motorsport, Great Britain remains the benchmark to this day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Este es el segundo libro que leo de Peter Grimsdale. Es el primero sobre el mundo del motor escrito por el autor británico pero la época que trata es posterior en el tiempo al tema de su siguiente obra, 'Racing in the dark', así que desde el punto de vista cronológico de su contenido se puede decir que los he leído en el orden correcto.
La estructura y el estilo es muy similar al anterior, con una prosa clara y descriptiva a la vez que rigurosa en los detalles. Los diferentes capítulos van tratando de asuntos que por un lado son en cierto modo independientes pero por otro se van encadenando dando paso en muchas ocasiones el final de un capítulo al inicio del siguiente a través de la entrada en escena de un nuevo personajes que pasa a ser el protagonista de las páginas que van a continuación.
Siendo un buen conocedor de la historia del deporte del automóvil en los años de los que trata la obra no hay apenas nada que me haya resultado novedoso en lo que relata al respecto del mundo de la competición pero de todas formas me ha parecido muy interesante la visión de conjunto que ofrece sobre el auge de los fabricantes y pilotos británicos en las décadas posteriores a la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En muchos casos las historias que va contando las conocía bien por separado pero la interrelación entre ellas les da una mayor profundidad. Si acaso me ha sorprendido no encontrar alusión alguno a la victoria de Tony Brooks con el Connaught en Siracusa, primer triunfo totalmente británico en una carrera de Gran Premio, aunque fuese una prueba no puntuable.
Además de la competiciones, que es mi apartado favorito, el libro trata también de los modelos de serie, apartado en el que mis conocimientos son mucho menores por lo que la lectura me ha aportado un buen número de detalles que desconocía.
En resumen me parece un libro bien escrito, que se lee de forma muy fluida y que ofrece un buen repaso general a una época llena de cambios en el mundo del motor, tanto en lo que respecta a los automóviles de serie como a los de competición. Para un lector británico tal vez acabe dejando un poso de nostalgia respecto a aquellos tiempos en los que, como dice el subtítulo del libro, sus marcas, equipos y pilotos 'dominaban las carreteras'. Época que hace tiempo ha quedado atrás aunque en lo que respecta a la máxima categoría del automovilismo mundial Gran Bretaña siga siendo hoy día el punto de referencia.
March 11, 2022
As a post WW2 baby boomer I grew up in that immediate post war era described so well in this book without ever really knowing the why's and where fore's of car production at that time. I knew that as a country we needed to export to earn dollars to pay for the war but nothing of the steel quota system so this book was a real eyeopener for me and the stories of John Cooper, Colin Chapman, Sir William Lyons et al are all brilliantly told. I enjoyed this book for educating me and also for its insight into our social and economic history of the period.
For all that I was grateful, I was also disappointed in what I consider to be a somewhat glaring omission. Motor racing at Aintree receives no mention that I can recall but the circuit hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix five times, in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1962. In 1957 Moss and Brooks became the first British drivers to win both the British Grand Prix and a round of the Formula One World Championship whilst driving a British car, a Vanwall in front of 150,000 spectators at Aintree. The last race on the F1 circuit at Aintree was in 1964 and won by Jack Brabham in a Cooper.
For the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix Moss drove a privately entered Rob Walker Lotus 18 to victory with three Ferrari 156's in pursuit. Moss didn't even have the latest Lotus engine modifications enjoyed by the works team.
For all that I was grateful, I was also disappointed in what I consider to be a somewhat glaring omission. Motor racing at Aintree receives no mention that I can recall but the circuit hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix five times, in 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961 and 1962. In 1957 Moss and Brooks became the first British drivers to win both the British Grand Prix and a round of the Formula One World Championship whilst driving a British car, a Vanwall in front of 150,000 spectators at Aintree. The last race on the F1 circuit at Aintree was in 1964 and won by Jack Brabham in a Cooper.
For the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix Moss drove a privately entered Rob Walker Lotus 18 to victory with three Ferrari 156's in pursuit. Moss didn't even have the latest Lotus engine modifications enjoyed by the works team.
May 6, 2025
picked this up from a remaindered pile in smiths and didn’t read it for a while, the title being somehow uninspiring?, when I did read it what a book, one of the most exciting if not the most exciting book on cars I’ve ever read and I’ve read many, it would have been easier to write a dull but comprehensive book on the subject but this is written like an edge of the seat thriller ,what a story and highly recommended!.
April 8, 2024
Really interesting. Just one thing I picked up on in the audiobook version...
"By lap seventeen with the rain worsening, he had lapped the entire field and was five minutes ahead of *Australian champion Bruce McLaren in a Cooper."
Correction. "was five minutes ahead of New Zealand champion Bruce McLaren"
"By lap seventeen with the rain worsening, he had lapped the entire field and was five minutes ahead of *
Correction. "was five minutes ahead of New Zealand champion Bruce McLaren"
April 26, 2023
A rollicking, paced like its racing car subject, Peter Grimsdale’s “High Performance” is a quick look at Britain’s history in the automotive world. It’s a fast read, never diving too deep, whetting the appetite of the reader to learn more. Crisply written, it’s a fun read.
June 11, 2019
Empire of the Road
This is empire of the skies for cars .
Recommend reading for anyone interested in the Great in Britain. And well cars....
This is empire of the skies for cars .
Recommend reading for anyone interested in the Great in Britain. And well cars....
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August 18, 2020Entertaining with facts and anecdotes! Interesting stories.
January 31, 2023
A wonderful history of Britain’s role in motoring and motor sport. Highly recommended.
May 9, 2025
I'm by no means a petrol-head, but as a piece of social history alone this merits attention.
May 5, 2026
accidentally left my copy on the bus and it ruined my day.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews