Formula 1 Opus: Conspicuous Consumption of the Literary Kind
February 22, 2008

By Bill Visnic

At last, an automotive book truly equal to the tastes — and pocketbooks — of moneyed “car guys” — a heftily proportioned, 850-page tribute detailing the history of Formula 1 racing titled Formula 1 Opus.

The book, more than a foot-and-a-half square and weighing 82 pounds, is priced at £3,000 — about $5,800 at current exchange rates.

A special run of 100 copies, each signed by all of the living Formula 1 world-champion drivers and protected by a hand-made carbon-fiber case, is tagged at a spectacular £20,000, or nearly $39,000 in beat-down U.S. dollars. In all, there will be 3,000 copies printed.

Formula 1 Opus is the latest of the Opus series from publisher Kraken Opus, which has produced similar “luxury” tomes glorifying the United Kingdom’s Manchester United football team and the Super Bowl. The publisher also plans Opus editions for Major League Baseball, Wimbledon tennis and even the Disney empire.

The publisher says Formula 1 Opus was two years in production, is embellished with 200,000 words and 2,000 photographs — many rare or commissioned exclusively for the book — selected from more than 2 million images.

Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s de facto ruler who guards the image of Formula 1 with sometimes eccentric jealousy, even has lent his approval, saying in a release from Kraken, “The research and detail in the Formula 1 Opus has never been seen before, the imagery is beautiful and as a document it is unparalleled. It is a must have for anyone who lives Formula 1.”

A final over-the-top detail is perhaps publisher Kraken’s most extravagant flourish: The UK’s Car magazine  reported that for £1,000 annually, the company will store the book in a humidity-controlled warehouse, delivering it each time the owner hankers for a read.

The magazine said about a fifth of the Formula 1 Opus print run has been ordered and two-thirds of the run is expected to be accounted for by the middle of the year, meaning there’s still time to grab up a few to toss around as gifts, right?

Photo courtesy Kraken Opus.

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