Go Faster - The Graphic Design of Racing Cars

Stripes, numbers, colors, and logos – the graphic visual look of a racecar has to stand out from all the others as they go zooming by. Most people don’t know that racing cars from the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, and Lotus were given their looks not by marketing strategists or designers, but by pure chance. Go Faster is a collection of over one hundred examples of racecar design that documents the carefree anarchy in which they were created.

In the book, colorful racing cars are featured next to blank, white models. Thanks to this juxtaposition, Go Faster not only takes its readers on a breakneck ride through images of racing history, but also shows them exactly how the graphics modulate the look of the vehicle. The neutral models in the book also give readers ample opportunity to imagine their own possibilities for graphic design in motor sports.

The time and effort invested in the look of racecars is strangely out of balance compared to that used to shape the bodywork or engineer the technology present in the car. But perhaps it is precisely this amateur quality, this anarchy and randomness that results in the irresistible attraction that racing cars and their graphics have on us. There are, of course, countless books on racing cars, but Go Faster is the first to focus on the graphic design of these machines. This makes the book an ideal gift for anyone interested in racing and high speeds.

Sven Voelker is a car enthusiast and graphic designer in Berlin. He is responsible for the global corporate design of the Suzuki Motor Corporation and other clients.