Top Trumps Extreme Wheels 2 | Book review by Maggie Woods

“What better to keep children (and
adult car nuts) occupied than the neat
little Top Trumps Extreme Wheels 2
book — packed full of photographs
and vital statistics of innovative or
exclusive vehicles...”

FOLLOWING THE OUTSTANDING SUCCESS of the best-selling card game, Top Trumps teamed up with Haynes to create an exciting series of books that have now become well established in the market, with over twenty titles on a variety of subjects.

It has now been more than thirty years since kids caught the Top Trumps craze and in Britain a pack of Top Trumps Cards is bought every six seconds. The Top Trumps Extreme Wheels 2 book features another 45 of the world's most powerful, innovative, futuristic or exclusive vehicles — from made-to-order specials and wacky concepts to outrageous conversions and fire-breathing monsters.

Beautifully illustrated and with a brief description of each vehicle, these pocket guides will keep kids (and grown-up car nuts, for that matter!) quiet for hours. These fantastic books provide detailed background information as well as all the facts and figures you'd expect — everything you need to answer all those tricky questions thrown up whilst playing the game while at the same time acting as a great introduction to the subjects featured.

Check out the 2005 Pininfarina Birdcage, a 200mph+ Italian supercar that is a homage to an icon that was born 45 years earlier and a celebration of Maserati's 75th birthday. This beautiful car has an Extreme Rating of 9 (the maximum is 10).

Or perhaps you'd be more interested in the startling 180mph German-built AC Schnitzer Tension with its "lairy" paintwork. How about the mid-engined Swiss supercar, the Weber Faster One that is claimed to reach 250mph?

There are also offerings from instantly-recognisable manufacturers such as VW with the funky and exhilarating GX3, a three-wheeled roadster with an Extreme Rating of 9 that was apparently seriously considered for production and goes from 0 to 62mph in 5.7 seconds.

The 235mph Ford GT 90 supercar has a "crazy, angular design" and was built in the USA in 1995; the Citroen GT supercar that was built in 2008 in France as a concept car and has an Extreme Rating of 10. There is also the 3-litre Nissan Silvia Drift Car built in Japan in 2008 that is given an Extreme Rating of 7 and is "capable of creating more black smoke than a burning oil tanker".

Trawl your way through the retro 145mph Chevrolet Newmad, a custom estate car built in the USA in 1955 that is described as "a seriously classic style with a modern interpretation… a true design icon"; the ultra futuristic Mercedes F400 Carving, the Japanese Nissan Urge sportscar; the amazing Italian supercar Covini C6W — claimed to be the world's first six-wheeled supercar and the astonishing Aptera Typ-1 electric commuter car with a top speed of 85mph and some decidedly clever technology. Oh, and an Extreme Rating of 10.

Other vehicles featured include the 225mph Brabus Bullitt Black Arrow; Mazda Taiki; Irmscher Inspiro; Venturi Astrolab; RinSpeed sQuba (that can drive on or under water and can also drive itself!); and the Peugeot Moovie — definitely one of the weirdest motoring creations ever. Check them out!

• Top Trumps Extreme Wheels 2 by Richard Dredge is out now in paperback format at an RRP of Ł4.99. ISBN: 978 1 84425 691 4.

"Top Trumps Extreme Wheels 2 is a fascinating and informative little book that scores well for it's superb photographs and descriptions. Extreme Rating? Ten!" — Maggie Woods, MotorBar

The Top Trumps series also includes: Extreme Wheels; Airliners; Tanks; The Dog; Sharks; Dinosaurs; World Football Stars, Marvel Heroes, Indiana Jones; Star Wars; and Doctor Who.

home | top of page | all book reviews