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CONGRATULATIONS Andy Saunders, 2023 Royal Automobile Club "Motoring Book of the Year Award" finalist!
Andy has been nominated for two awards: "Best Debut Author" and "Books About Motor Cars & Motoring With No Price Limit".
Simon Taylor, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Motoring Book of the Year Committee, said: “It’s been a bumper year for submissions, with 56 entries representing 36 publishers – from major houses to small independents and self-published authors. It’s been a delight to see such impressive and diverse titles across all categories, as well as so many debut authors. The judges had a healthy debate scrutinising each book for subject originality, writing style, depth of research, quality of illustrations and production before finalising the shortlist of contenders.”
The annual awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 1 November 2023. Watch this space for the results!
Classic and Sports Car Book of the Month
March, 2023
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Thank you, Pete Vack / VeloceToday.com, for the review
by Pete Vack
February, 2023
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Octane Review
May, 2023
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Octane Feature Article: Andy Saunders
May, 2023
The Octane Interview: Andy Saunders
Classicretromodern.com Review
March, 2023
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Classic Cars Review
March, 2023
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Classic Trader Online Magazine Review
English Translation
March, 2023
In the world of automotive design there are so many individualists who gather around their own campfire, pursue their visions and create original worlds – Andy Saunders is one of them, who has made a big name for himself in the world of customizing.
From his father he learned early on how to deal with materials – he also regularly took him to Beaulieu, where father and son stocked up on car and spare parts and plenty of literature, which helped Andy gain fame over the years in the world of customized one-offs. Saunders used the youth years to be trained by the best craftsmen on the island – which is reflected today in the perfection of its vehicles.
The combination of classic and contemporary with Andy Saunders
The unique pieces by Andy Saunders can now be admired at the big shows around the world – from the extremely shortened to the lengthened Mini with the roof pulled down (which is rightly called "Claustrophobia") to a Fiat 126 (which measured 134 centimeters in the series) and shrunk to 21.5" tall by Saunders, there wasn't anything Saunders didn't rework. And Saunders didn't shy away from giving the iconic 1938 Cord 814 a new shape that perfectly fits the classic into the present-day transformed.
He also found fame with the epic restoration of a 1950s dream car, the 1957 Aurora Safety Sedan – a study designed to provide the optimum level of safety for occupants and other road users. The car was considered "the ugliest and safest car in the world" at the time – Google ‘Aurora Safety Car 1957’ and it will become clear. Saunders found the wreck and restored it to perfection – for this act alone Saunders has already earned the wonderful book “The Automotive Alchemist”. A terrific treasure trove for fans of unusual vehicles – highly recommended.
Custom Car Review
Winter, 2022
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Fast Ford Review
Spring, 2023
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L'Automobile Review
English translation
All-round creations
Many of us dream of automobiles like no other. And, sometimes, we manage to own one... Andy Saunders treats the problem differently. He goes to the workshop, examines the heaps of parts he has stored all these years or recovers a wreck and shapes the desire that goes through his head. Soon to be in his sixties, Andy won his first prize in a custom competition at the age of 16. He contracted the car customization virus in his dad's garage, which also feeds the son's imagination with the help of car magazines and books. Andy could have learned all the tricks of mechanics with his father's employees, but he falls in love with paint guns and stencils. At 19, his Volvo Amazon-based Rainbow Chaser convertible is invited to a European tour of custom festivals! Since then, from the lowest car in the world to his cubist 2CV called "Picasso", without forgetting flamboyant customs or the restoration of historic dream-cars, few registers have escaped him. In 2018, the retrospective Art of Kustom organized by the famous National Motor Museum of Beaulieu (United Kingdom). But this insatiable maker took it into his head to conceive a unique project to celebrate the first book dedicated to his 45 years of creations. Hence the astonishing “Deja”, Delahaye-style, that L’Automobile reveals to you in preview.
464 pages in the impeccable edition, available at Dalton Watson, this autobiography, in English, of the creator and coachbuilder Andy Saunders is a delight of unexpected anecdotes and a pure journey to the land of automotive dreams.
Magneto Review
Winter, 2022
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Mini Review
March, 2023
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Automobile Review
April, 2023
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TKC Review
March/April, 2023
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V8 Review
Winter, 2022
Book review from V8 magazine (Finland)
TEXT BY JARMO MARKKANEN PHOTOS BY ANDY SAUNDERS
Andy Saunders is England's best-known customiser. An artist who knows no boundaries. The man's unprejudiced works are always uncontrollable details. The just-published autobiography tells the story of a car alchemist who strives to transform one element into another. Andy's cars were also sold in the Tampere show in the 80s.
Andy was born in 1963 and grew up in Poole, on the south coast of England. The custom culture spread rapidly to England in the late 1960s and the young man "fell" under the structural influence. Han worked in his father's workshop. Isa noticed Andy's talents and offered tools for Andy's construction and bought him his first car, a Rover, from which Andy built his first custom when he was 15 years old.
Andy was not interested in technology, only in [basketry]. The cars did move and were drivable, but only minor changes were made to the transmission.
Guest of Tampere
Domestic enthusiasts flocked to get to know Andy's cars in the 80s at the Hot Rod & Rock Show. Andy visited Tampere twice. The first time in 1987 there were three cars on display: Rainbow Chaser, Claustrophobia Mini and Ha Ha Mini. In 1988, the Asorta Transporta transport truck and boat were brought to the market.
“Just good memories. Great entertainment and friendly people, not to mention the parties. Sunshine, beautiful lakes, big trees and countless landscapes. In fact, the book has a couple of amazing pictures of Rainbow Chaser taken by a lake in Finland,” recalls Andy.
Five thousand pictures
Andy's life story is stylistically like a man’s. The book describes Andy's journey as a roller coaster, with its ups and downs. Honestly and with humor. The book is not only Andy's own history, but also the history of car design seen through his eyes. Stories of 60 cars built by the man have been collected in the 464-page opus. Andy's creations are presented with plenty of pictures, including previously unpublished pictures from the Dream Car era. A total of 1,055 images have been used in the visual design!
You don't need to look for the Nain teet technique in a book, but instead focus on Andy's creation... the joy of it and the genius of the design. Andy has realized what came to mind. 42 of Andy's customs are currently in museums and private collections around the world.
The most significant work
When you ask Andy what he considers his most specific project, you have to think about the answer. “Several cars have shaped my career. The first cover point was definitely the X-2000, because it was the car where I built the entire body myself for the first time, from start to finish, with my own hands. It taught me a lot and without it I would never have built many future customs like Tetanus, Metropolis or Deja. The X-2000 was also accurate when it was chosen as the press car at the Melbourne International Auto Show, Australia. When I sold the car, I gave the new owner every magazine in which it was presented. There were 49 magazines in total, so it was known throughout the automotive world.”
The Automotive Alchemist 
