There are different opinions about audiobooks. While some people believe they are no different from reading, others are of the school of thought that audiobooks are for lazy readers. However, the fact is, an audiobook is a more comfortable alternative to reading.
But this is not our focus; our main concern here is more about audiobooks for car enthusiasts.
Regardless of the opinions circulating around audiobooks, as a car enthusiast, having an audiobook is more comfortable to garner information from car pros than reading.
This leads us to knowing the best audiobooks on audible for car enthusiasts, and here in this article, we have gathered 20 of the best audiobooks that are great to have on your list.
The Best Audiobooks on Audible for Car Enthusiasts
1. Car’s Fever: The Car Bore’s Essential Companion
James May is well known for his controversial opinion about issues, and he is no different with his ideas about cars. Whether his opinion correlates with yours or not, you will love how he presents them.
Having spent most of his life behind the wheel, James is an icon when we talk about cars.
Down to his Car’s Fever, this is an audiobook about his experience with cars, such as the combustion engine, traffic wardens, and even standard driving rules and regulations. Overall, this audiobook revolves around everything that surrounds the modern driver.
2. Racing To The Finish
Racing To The Finish reveals Dale Earnhardt’s experience in his final year on the track. As such, if you ever ask how legends like Dale could make it to their positions, here is an answer to that.
Dale driving caring hit a wall in June 2016 when he had a minor crash at Michigan International Speedway. At first, he thought this was just sending him off for the day, and though he had had several prior concussions and survived, this last one was more than he thought.
In 2017, though he was healthy, he announced his retirement. When asked why he left so soon, he could only attribute his retirement as a measure to save his life from multiple racing-related concussions.
During his latter days on the track, Dale would pretend everything was fine, but in his private message left on his phone, it was revealed that Dale would suffer injuries sustained on Sundays throughout the week and struggle to recover so he could race the following weekend again. This justifies Dale’s early retirement.
Back to his book – Racing To The Finish – Dale revealed how he managed to live with his weekly injuries and the frustration of having to recover before the following weekends. Also, in this audiobook, you will learn about the woman that stood by him through his trial time.
3. From Para To Dakar: Overcoming Paralysis And Conquering The Dakar Rally
Evans started his life as a lover of anything automotive. He got his first bike at the age of six and had his first off-road motorcycle a few years later, which he believes fueled his passion for his career.
In this audiobook, Evans started by revealing how he had nursed the dream of featuring in the most grueling off-road race in his lifetime, the 9000km Dakar rally. Unfortunately for Evans, his dream became shattered when he had an accident that saw his back broken. This accident cost him his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from below the elbow.
When doctors examine him, he was told he only had a 10-percent chance of ever walking again, which translated to no chance of racing again. While this was enough reason for Evans to give up and believe he was to spend his remaining life in a wheelchair, he didn’t give up.
Evans didn’t only dream of walking again but also kept his first dream of the Dakar race alive. Seeing his determination, family and friends came around to support him, which was fruitful. And just as he had dreamt, Evans did not only walk again but appeared on the finish line of the Dakar race in 2017.
All these – his recovery, supports from family and friends, and his determination – are uncovered in this audiobook. No doubt, this is one of the best audiobooks for you as a car enthusiast.
4. We Need To Weaken The Mixture
We Need To Weaken The Mixture is an audiobook about the experience of a British motorcycle racer, Guy Martin. Martin started his racing career in 1998 and had his road circuit debut in 2004. Over his 17 years as a racer, he was able to achieve 17 podium finishes.
In 2010, Martin had his back broken two times when he had an accident in TT in 2010 and another accident in Ulster Grand Prix, all within a year period. The later accident nearly sent Martin to retirement. His decision to retire was, however, made private and was later terminated when Neil Tuxworth, Honda Racing team manager, persuaded him into Honda racing.
Later in January 2017, Martin disclosed his partnership with John McGuiness to compete in the North West 200. Later on, the duo competed in Southern 100 races and Isle Man TT.
Martin has compiled his failures and successes in this audiobook, a book aimed at motorcycle and car enthusiasts.
5. The Carroll Shelby: Portrayed By Damon In The Hilt Film V Ferrari
Caroll Shelby is a well-known fanatic of anything speed. His love for the fastest cars brought him to the speedway, and his passion for cars was documented in a feature film Ford v Ferrari. In the movie, Matt Damon featured Shelby while Christian Bale featured Ken Mile, a fellow racer.
In this audiobook, Shelby shares his story as a speed thriller, which he did in an unmistakable style you will find interesting.
Shelby is not just known as a wizard behind the wheel, but also a visionary designer of speed machines, which stood him out on the racetrack and the road. His GT40s has earned him glories in the Ford Cobra, which was his masterpiece.
Again, this book is a summary of how Shelby could attain success, and this will be an excellent choice for readers who also cherish speed, just like Shelby does.
6. The Diesel Brother: A Truckin’ Awesome Guild To Trucks And Life
Here is one of the best audiobooks for truck lovers. The book revolves around the lives of two business brothers, popularly known as “The Diesel Brothers”. In this audiobook, you will get to know how Heavy D and Diesel Dave met, how they started their adventures, and what led them to their reality show – The Diesel Brothers.
This audiobook is not just about their personal lives, but also contains advice to other diehard truck fans in search of inspiration. Heavy D and his crew will also take you on a ride of how to bargain with dealers when looking for parts in the junkyard.
7. Elon Musk
At the mention of his name, the first thing that comes to mind is “PayPal”. Yes, Elon Musk is the founder of PayPal. Being an entrepreneur, he has found another way to make money, and this way is not only to fatten his wallet but also to save the planet.
Elon Musk’s plan to save the planet is to send citizens into space and form a colony on Mars. The South-African entrepreneur is releasing this book to let citizens know about his plan to make this a success.
About his earlier life, Musk had a rough and tough childhood. His schoolmates would bully at him brutally, and his father was also not helping matters. Despite the challenges, he managed to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he had no one to pay for his school fees. The only way he could come up with was to turn his house into a club where he would organize massive parties.
After graduation, his first massive success was PayPal, which he, unfortunately, sold to eBay for 1.5 billion in 2002, and this cost him his position as the CEO. After he was kicked out of this, Musk’s trial time began, and he had to face it and think of other ways to bright his fortune again. This hunger and passion later birthed his investment in rockets and electric cars, which has been a success. However, Musk lost his marriage to his technological obsessions.
All these and more are what you find in this audiobook.
8. How to Build a Car
How to Build a Car is a story of one of Britain’s most outstanding engineers, Adrian Newey OBE, a well-known designer in Formula One.
This book covers Adrian’s 35 years in Formula One designing cars. Also, in this audiobook, he reveals the races he has involved and the drivers he has worked with.
No doubt, Adrian was born a genius engineer. Even in adolescence, he would draw how he wanted his dream car to look like, and when on summer holidays, he would enroll in welding courses, all of which contributed to his success. This book uncovers how he started his career with IndyCar and how he moved on to Formula One to become the famous car designer he is known for.
This audiobook reveals to us that Adrian has worked with different successful drivers, such as Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansell, and though his career was full of trophies, there were also times of failures and challenges. A noticeable tragedy was the death of Ayrton Senna, which happened during Adrian’s days at Williams in 1994.
9. How to Be an F1 Driver
In Formula One, one thing is sure – you must drive fast – but this requires rules and tricks, and these are what Jenson is about to reveal to car enthusiasts and especially Formula One lovers. Having spent 17 years in Formula One, it won’t be wrong to say Jenson Button has got the experience.
This book uncovers the untold secrets of checking the blind spot, the difference between a hat and a helmet, and of course, a helmet-hat. This book also teaches beginners how to practice their campaign ahead of the real competition. How to Be an F1 Driver also contains Button’s experience when he ran his friend multi-million-pound car into the wall while practising.
10. How Not to Be a Professional Racing Driver
A two-time championship winner, Jason Plato, is a force to voice to listen to when it comes to learning to become a professional racing driver.
Plato has been with the Williams Touring since 1997 and has set several records. Within his stay with WT, he has beaten several records, such as having the largest number of fastest laps ever, having more wins than Stirling Moss and Lewis Hamilton.
Despite his success, Plato has faced several challenges. His most noticeable challenge was when he was arrested for stealing JCB, which sent him to prison in Monaco.
In this audiobook, you will learn how he has managed to cope with life challenges and his rough life. Yes, Plato is known as a rule-breaker, and his wayward life has brought him close to death on several occasions.
11. High Performance: When Britain Ruled the Roads
Fans were amazed when a team of Mini Coopers won the 1964 edition of the Monte Carlo Rally, and this brought British cars to short-term limelight. Through the decade, British cars won the heart of fans and became the world’s most famous sports cars. Later, James Bond went on to feature the British Aston Martin DB5 in his films, bringing more fame to these cars.
However, before the Second World War, British cars were no longer the kings they used to be. The question is, what changed?
To reveal the secret behind the British cars and what brought them to their doom, Peter Grimsdale did the research, and here is what he found out – “When The Britain Ruled The Roads”.
12. Porsche 911: The Practically Free Supercar: The Complete Beginner’s Guide to the Smartest Route into Porsche Ownership
If you have a dream of owning a Porsche, the Porsche 911 is a book for you. With this book, turning your dream into reality becomes easier as you have the guild from someone who has been in your shoes. This book reveals why owing a Porsche shouldn’t be a dream only for the wealthy.
Other lessons you will learn in this book include how to maintain a sports car with less budget, the best Porsche to buy, the typical cost of running a Porsche, and which Porsche is the best for investment.
This book is about the experience of several Porsche owners, which include how they found their Porsche, how they purchased them, how they run them, and how they sold them.
The author also reveals his personal experience about owning a Porsche, his cost-effective approach to maintaining his Porsches, and how he drives them. Overall, this is an audiobook to launch you into owning a Porsche.
13. Jenson Button: Life to the Limit: My Autobiography
Jenson Button is a great racing driver with vast experience in Formula One. With his 17-year stay in Formula One, he is one of the experienced Top Gear drivers to hear from when it comes to teaching beginners racing drivers.
“Life to the Limit” is his first book to release about his experience in Formula One. In this book, Button reveals how he had been nursing a passion for racing, how his father has supported his dream, and the faces that welcomed him to Williams at the age of 20.
The book also talks about how Button was written off by some drivers he met at Williams and how he never gave up on himself.
14. Aussie Grit: My Formula One Journey
My Formula One Journey is an audiobook where Mark Webber shares his experience in Formula One with car enthusiasts.
He has made one of the most captivating events in the history of Formula One when he and his teammate came head to head to claim the World Championship, but only a winner could emerge.
After his retirement from Formula One, Webber didn’t stop racing but went ahead to compete in endurance racing and competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
Webber also made it to the final round of the 2014 edition of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an event that took place in South America, where he ran into the barricade. This accident almost claimed his life, but he managed to survive.
In this book, Webber reveals the story of his battle in Formula One, and how he managed to bag his trophies. This is an audiobook for every lover of the sport.
15. Watching the Wheels: My Autobiography
Though his father was a legend in Formula One, Damon Hill has worked for his own success and was announced as the Formula One World Champion in 1996, after beating Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna to come first in the race.
In this audiobook, Damon shares his experience growing up with his father, who was a famous racing driver. He also reveals his ordeal of having to deal with the chaos and grief that followed the death of his father, who lost his life in an aircraft accident. Damon’s father’s death was earlier and was a shock to Damon, who was only fifteen years old in 1975 when the accident occurred.
All these and more are what you will find interesting in this book.
16. Hard Driving: The Wendell Scott Story
As the title suggests, this book covers the story of Wendell Scott, a sport driver.
Just like most drivers, Scott faced several challenges in the earlier days of his career, but despite this, he fought hard to become the success he is today. The most significant of his failure was when he joined the NASCAR in 1950. He could clearly hear spectators yelling at him to go home. “go home, lad” rented the air. This was merged with the frustration of his promoter refusing to pay him. He, however, met with the sport’s founder who promised to support him.
Fortunately for Scott, the promise of Bill France was not just mere words, at least for a while, and France stood by him when things went north. However, France later broke his promise and formed an alliance against Scott.
However, with support from friends and family, Scott could deal with his several crashes, financial issues, and health challenges. He later saw his dream become a reality, as he went on to become one of NASCAR’s best.
Hard Driving reveals the politics in the NASCAR, and how specific drivers in the NASCAR, such as Richard Petty and Ned Jarrett, noticed Scott’s talent and stood by him to become a NASCAR champion.
17. How to Drive: The Ultimate Guide, from The Man Who Was the Stig
Driving is what each of us does every day, but we have different levels of experience. Listening to the experience of those who have witnessed it all behind the wheel goes a long way in building on our driving knowledge, and Ben Collins is a Top Gear star to hear from.
In his book “how to drive”, he reveals the secret behind his safe, enjoyable, and economical driving. His driving skills, such as smoothly changing gears, have been honored even by his co-Top Gears.
In this book, you will learn secrets that your instructor and parents forgot to tell you. Overall, this is an audiobook for those who want to get better at their day-to-day driving skills.
18. Driven: The Men Who Made Formula One
Formula One is a game of speed, danger, and glamour, but when it comes to how the game began, only a few can relate. Here is a book about the transformation of the Formula One game. In “Driven: The Men Who Made Formula One”, you will learn about how a niche sport transformed into a £I billion track game.
The journey all started when Bernie Ecclestone led a group of men to create age-space-cars and transform amateur drivers into multimillion-pound superstars, which birth Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna.
This account of Formula One talks deeply about how obstacles couldn’t stop these men but rather fuel their common impulses.
19. Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR
NASCAR is a multibillion-dollar game with over 75 million fans today, and the number never stops growing. However, there are little secrets about NASCAR that some of us don’t know.
Driving with the Devil tells the untold story of the birth of NASCAR. The dream started in the 40s from a group of young men who could foresee cars and speed bringing people together to the track and as a ticket to a better life.
This book tells you about the fascinating histories of NASCAR, from the first official race that took place in 1948, the passion and excitement, to the failures and successes that NASCAR has hidden from the public.
20. To Hell and Back: An Autobiography
We all have our past, and there are moments we will never forget. The same can be said of Niki Lauda, a car sport driver who has crossed the line between life and death to launch into greater glories.
He has the most terrible crash of his racing career at Nurburgring in 1976, which almost claimed his life. Fans would say that was his end on the track but were surprised to site him again just a month later on the track at Monza. Despite the wounds, he fought back hard to reclaim his World Champion title a year after the horrible crash.
In “To Hell and Back”, he narrates his ordeal of fighting back to reclaim his title, which seemed impossible. Also, in the book, Lauda takes us back to his childhood when his parent didn’t support his dream and how this was another reason for him to succeed.
Conclusion
When it comes to car racing, day-to-day driving, and other daily activities, experiences are king, and hearing from those who have been there before becomes handy. This article has, therefore, brought you a list of audiobooks where experiences and knowledge are shared.
Depending on your need as a car enthusiast, any of these audiobooks on audible will serve its purpose.
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