Walter Röhrl is certainly the most popular rally driver of all time in German-speaking countries and probably far beyond. He has won pretty much everything you can win in rallying and was also successful in touring car racing. He is also a very enduring cyclist and can still give many a younger driver a run for his money when it comes to skiing. But, above all, he has always remained a likeable and grounded sportsman who is always ready with a good quote.
Of course, much has already been written and filmed about such a driving legend. But to mark his 70th birthday , not one but two books are being published. The work described here is part of the "Edition Porsche Museum" series and was written by Wilfried Müller.
Röhrl from A to Z
Instead of presenting a simple chronological history, Müller has decided to tell the story of Walter Röhrl's achievements and idiosyncrasies along the alphabet. He begins with A for aerodynamics and ends with Z for future.
In between you will find all sorts of funny, thought-provoking or simply extraordinary things. For example, you learn that Röhrl is capable of outbursts of rage and that he has had a few, but nonetheless some memorable crashes. You also learn about Röhrl's cat and the various cars he drove during his racing career.
Images as a formative element
It is the pictures that tell a large part of the story, and Müller can usually be brief. Some of the pictures have hardly ever been seen before, but there are also factory pictures from Porsche and other sources.
They are impressive contemporary documents. And because the pictures are so dominant, it is more of a picture book than a reader.
There is also some biography
However, Müller has not refrained from explaining in an introductory chapter at the beginning what is special about Röhrl and what connects him with Porsche.
And at the end of the book, Müller also tells Röhrl's life story in around 36 pages. He dispenses with tables of palamres data as well as a structured list of racing cars.
Entertaining and enlightening
Anyone looking for a classic biography will be badly served by this book. But if you already know a lot about Röhrl and simply like the guy, you will find many interesting details and some never-before-seen photos in Müller's work. The fact that not only Porsche, but also the Ford Capri, the Fiat 131 Abarth, the Lancia Stratos, the Lancia 037 Rallye and the Audi years are covered is to the credit of the people from Zuffenhausen. But it would have been a bit dull if only the Porsche aspects of the story had been told.
At EUR 49.00, the book is not cheap, but it is well worth the price if you like rallying and are interested in Röhrl.
Bibliographical information
- Title: Walter Röhrl - Wishbone - A journey through time in pictures
- Author: Wilfried Müller
- Language: German
- Publisher: McKlein Publishing
- Edition: 1st edition 2017
- Format: Hardcover edition. 24 x 30 cm
- Scope: 256 pages, around 254 color and 52 black and white photos
- ISBN: 978-3927458918
- Price: EUR 49.90
- Buy/order: Online at the McKlein racing webshop, online at amazon.deor in the relevant bookstores
