New Raupp Ferrari Book and Calendar

Review by Pete Vack
All photos courtesy of author and publisher.

To celebrate the Ferrari automobile from 1947 to 2013, famed photographer Günther Raupp has added a fantastic new book to his traditional calendar for the discriminating Ferrari owner. The Raupp offerings, now sold via David Bull Publishing, include a HUGE calendar sprinkled with both Ferrari road and race cars, old and new, and a smaller Ferrari Formula 1 calendar with scenes from recent F1 events using photos from the best F1 photographers, selected by Raupp himself. And this year, a very special Ferrari book.

The Ferrari Book
Like Michael Furman, Günther Raupp is at the top of his game and currently he is the official Ferrari photographer. His new book is introduced by Piero Ferrari, who recognizes the difficulties photographers face when creating art with a still medium lacking in motion and the hallmark sounds of the Ferrari engine. Raupp, he writes, makes things move, capturing the essence of Ferrari with his lens.

Ferrari went on to deftly defined Raupp’s gift. “Thanks to special camera angles and the skillful use of light, over and over again Raupp successfully conveys the exact essence that makes a Ferrari what it is: pure emotion.” Ferrari is convinced that this success is the result of Raupp’s deep passion for Ferrari automobiles.

Although Raupp does own a 246GTS Dino, success is probably due more to sheer hard work, dedication, a great crew of helpers, and thousands of hours of experience. While Piero is a great fan, Raupp began by impressing the hell out of Enzo, which resulted in the first Ferrari Calendar in 1985, and they were later elevated to Officialdom.

As most professional photographers will tell you, good equipment is both desirable and necessary; Raupp uses top of the line Hasselblad cameras with powerful outdoor flash equipment that he has modified to suit his needs. All along the line, quality materials are used in processing the images, and the paper, while the printing firms are among the best in the world. But also most pros will tell you, photographic art is in the eye. One begins there and develops to perfection the art already visualized by the eye of the artist.

A word about backgrounds…though no doubt specifically chosen to best reflect the nature of the particular model, that too must be limited by time and geography. To a novice, dealing with background is one of the most difficult things to master. Raupp can turn a dusty racetrack into a Garden of Eden, critical as the car is only part of the picture.

All of the above applies to the yearly calendar, but now also to Raupp’s book of Ferrari images, simply titled “The Ferrari Book.” His first collection of photos was published five years ago and quickly sold out. This time, Raupp has arranged his favorite Calendar Ferrari images in chronological order and stacked them by decades…1947-57 to 2007-2013, when Ferrari is in the midst of its seventh decade. The number of different cars varies with each decade, some with 18 models, and others as many as 24. The cars are all magnificent, but through no fault of Raupp’s many of the pre-1970 Ferrari F1 cars are no longer around to be photographed. Serial numbers are included and the text is in…English, German, French, Italian, and….Chinese. Collector’s editions are available for $2500 until December 31st 2013.

Just as the calendar is huge, so is the book. At 14.5 inches high and 11.75 inches in width, it allows Raupp’s calendar ready work to be seen on a large enough scale to be appreciated. A downside might be that most of the photos are split by the binding, but as one can see from the images herein, it rarely diminishes the effect. Fairly priced for the size, art and quality. It is important to note that all Raupp Ferrari books purchased from the official representative, David Bull Publishing in the U.S., are personally signed by Raupp. This is not the case for those sold via Amazon or anywhere else.

Author: Günther Raupp
Format: Hardcover, 11.5” x 15”, 304 pages, English/German
Photos: Approximately 250 color photographs
ISBN: 978-3-832797-25-6
Price: $125.00
Order Book
Or call 602-852-9500, or toll-free at 1-800-831-1758.

The Ferrari Myth Calendar
Big (at 27 inches high by 19 inches, no doubt anticipating a large amount of mansion wall space.) Heavy. Impressive. Big on the cars and small on the font. But the date is not the issue for this is not a calendar one might refer to. That’s what the Patek Philippe is for. At $89.95, you’ll want to get an idea of what is coming up for you every month, so below are the cars in the 2014 calendar:

January: 2013 F12 berlinetta seen in Maranello. The front-mounted V12 engine delivers a stunning 740 horsepower and top speeds over 200 mph.

February: 1967 330 GTS debuted at the Paris Motor Show in 1966. The two-seat spider featured a 300 horsepower V12 engine capable of 150 mph.

March: 1953 166 Mille Miglia This unique barchetta was designed by Carrosserie Martial Oblin in Brussels.

April: 2013 Ferrari’s stunning new LaFerrari supercar combines a rear-mounted V12 engine with a (KERS). Just 499 examples will be produced.

May: 1959 250 GT Berlinetta TDF featured a body built by Scaglietti from a Pinin Farina design. TDF refers the car’s multiple wins in the Tour de France.

June: 2012 Ferrari California is the first Ferrari with a mid-front mounted V8 engine.

July: 1980 512 BB LM was called thusly after its appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978. This example is one of 16 built between 1980 and 1982.

August: 2013 FF The new FF (for “Ferrari Four”) is the company’s first production car to use four- wheel drive.

September: 1953 250 MM Berlinetta was the first model in Ferrari’s long-running 250 series and had a 240-horsepower V12.

October: 1961 250 GT PC Berlinetta Competizione; the famous SWB scored numerous victories at the track, among them two class wins at Le Mans.

November: 2013 458 Spider was introduced in 2011. The convertible version of the 458 Italia features an aluminum hardtop that retracts in 14 seconds.

December: 1956 250 GT Speciale. Chassis 0425 made its debut on the Pinin Farina stand at the 1956 Geneva Motor Show.

Author: Günther Raupp
Format: 19” x 27” 12 month wall calendar printed on heavy
Photos: 15 color photographs
ISBN: 978-3-938-316-20-7
Price: $89.95
Order Myth Calendar

A second calendar is also available and here Raupp is not responsible for the photography but instead choses images from the F1 circus taken by the best in the business. Red red and red…a ballet of drivers and pit crews that catch the energy, depth and speed of F1 today. At 23” x 16” smaller and less expensive at only $39.95.
Order F1 calendar

Prints
David Bull also is offering Raupp’s Limited Edition Ferrari Art Prints. This signed and numbered set shows four of the most fascinating Ferraris of all time: the 1958 250 Testa Rossa, 1963 250 GTO, 1967 330 P4 and the 2013 LaFerrari. Size is 27.5 by 39.5 inches and the set is priced at $269.00 for a signed, numbered, limited edition.
Order Prints