Cool Reads: Top Gear’s The Cool 500 – Coolest Cars Ever Made

Your motoring-themed mancave is coming along nicely, with a gearbox table, iXoost speakers and gorgeous car prints on the wall.  Now, all you need are proper automotive coffee table books to make it a palatable place for your guests to chill out in.  Top Gear’s “The Cool 500: The Coolest Cars Ever Made” should be a mandatory addition.

If you’re fan of Top Gear, you know what’s up: these dudes know their cars.  And in this book, they let go of some of that knowledge and insight, putting the spotlight on 500 cars they deem “SubZero” — vehicles so darn cool they’ve crossed over to the cold.  Or something like that.

Billed as a “bible of motoring coolness,”  The Cool 500 is authored by Top Gear Magazine writer Matt Master.  Consisting of 312 pages, it doesn’t just regale you with pretty pictures (they include some rare archive photographs, too) and boring specs sheets.  Instead, it offers actual commentary you can get down and read, such as stories surrounding each of the vehicles (stuff like Steve McQueen and his Ford Mustang), descriptions of the technology behind them, and how they fared in the context of their respective time periods.  The coverage spans a long time, too, from prewar vintage motors to modern day supercars, so rest assured your gearhead curiousities are likely to be satiated.

Whether you’re really into cars, slightly into cars or just want to be into cars because you met a girl who drag races, “The Cool 500: The Coolest Cars Ever Made” should make for some seriously fun reading.  It’s available from Amazon, priced at $28.

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