The Austin Pedal Car Story wins Royal Automobile Club 2024 Motoring Book Of The Year Award
David Whyley’s The Austin Pedal Car Story, published by Porter Press International, emerged as the Royal Automobile Club’s 2024 Motoring Book Of The Year at a special ceremony in central London last night, in the presence of acclaimed motoring and motor racing authors from around the world.
This exhaustive, entertaining and beautifully produced book chronicles the story of how the Austin Motor Company provided much-needed work for disabled former miners in South Wales, building small-scale versions of its roadgoing cars for lucky children.
The Austin Pathfinder and J40 cars were made from 1949 to 1971. Today the originals are highly sought-after by collectors. They have recently gone back into production, and there is an annual race for them – called the Settrington Cup – at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
They rely entirely on pedal-power, with the fittest legs making them go the fastest. So this is the first time a book on cars without engines has won outright at the Awards, now in its 11th straight year and regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the car book world.
David Whyley is acknowledged as an Austin expert. He grew up near the company’s headquarters in Longbridge, Birmingham, and has spent decades researching the work, which involved interviews with many of the people involved at the time. It also includes numerous previously unseen photos.
Accepting his award for The Austin Pedal Car Story, assessed by a panel of expert independent judges, he said: “To me, this book was all about securing future interest in our history, and I felt I needed to tell the story of how the motor industry helped the people of the Welsh Valleys.
“I began researching this in the mid-1990s, and I was fortunate enough to meet the designer as part of that – I couldn’t believe what he had to show me, and so I was gifted the opportunity to write about these miniature marvels.”
Jeremy Vaughan, Head of Motoring at the Royal Automobile Club, commented:
“The range of titles under consideration is so wonderfully varied this year, perhaps more so than for any year since we started these Awards back in 2013.
“David’s book may be about cars that none of us will ever drive on the roads, but the approach he’s taken to his subject, and the incredible detail he’s amassed and catalogued, is as accomplished as any definitive marque history.
“Here at the Club, we love to play our part in recognising excellence in book publishing, and we’re lucky to have judges who are open-minded, knowledgeable and, of course, completely independent. I thank them all for their contributions”
This was by no means the only book to scoop an accolade last night.
Other books to win on the night (topping categories with and without a £50.00 price limit) included: Morgan: An English Enigma by Martyn Webb; BMW: Behind The Scenes by Steve Saxty; Goldie by John Mayhead; and The Last Eyewitness by Doug Nye. The Graham Robson Award for Best Debut Author was presented to Bob Evans for Happy Lucky Days: My Life in Racing. Full details of all the winners are listed below.
Sharing the history-rich limelight at the Royal Automobile Club on Wednesday evening was Dr Clare Hay, who was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her significant contribution to the UK’s motoring book industry.
Her first book, the highly acclaimed Bentley: The Vintage Years, was published in December 1986, not long after her 23rd birthday. Her ten subsequent titles on the marque and the work of Walter Owen Bentley have cemented her reputation as the pre-eminent world authority on vintage Bentley cars.
Dr Hay told the audience movingly of her early life, and the grip that her subject took on her.
Receiving £3000 from an insurance payout after being knocked off her bicycle, Dr Hay was able to buy her own Bentley 3 Litre as a wreck in Scotland – at a time when she didn’t have a driving licence or any means to get it home.
She added that “Nobody took any interest in me or what I was doing.” But within a very short time, she had become the leading authority on vintage Bentleys, with unparalleled knowledge on each of the 3000 individual cars produced, and consulted by renowned collectors, including Ralph Lauren.
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The Royal Automobile Club awarded four category winners in addition to the overall winner, and best debut author. All category winners are listed below.
The Motoring Book of the Year
The Austin Pedal Car Story, by David Whyley, Porter Press International, £85.00
Books about motor cars and motoring, costing no more than £50.00
Morgan: An English Enigma, by Martyn Webb, The Crowood Press, £45.00
Books about motor cars and motoring, with no price limit
BMW: Behind the Scenes, by Steve Saxty, Seven Spoke Publishing, £239.95
Books on a motor sporting subject, costing no more than £50.00
Goldie, by John Mayhead, National Motor Museum Publishing, £20.00
Books on a motor sporting subject with no price limit
The Last Eyewitness, by Doug Nye, Porter Press International, price £195.00
Graham Robson Award for Best Debut Author
Bob Evans, Happy Lucky Days: My Life in Racing, BHP Publishing, £32.00
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr Clare Hay
