Get Your Free Audiobook
-
The Chariot Makers: The Definitive Text
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Sports
Non-member price: $27.79
People who bought this also bought...
-
These Desired Things
- A Collection of Short Stories Including Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These Desired Things is a stimulating, philosophical offering; a tour de force in creative writing. Praised in review as "imagery and literature at its finest", defining this book's genre seems largely superfluous - for its immersive, lyrical text is part fiction, part memoir, part autobiography. The chapters are presented as a collection of 11 short stories: all of them varying in their individual plots, their settings and their style, yet all of them remain essential elements of the whole; for running through each is a series of subtle, uniting threads.
-
The Mechanic
- The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane
- By: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Narrated by: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mechanic written and read by Marc 'Elvis' Priestley. In the high-octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium.
-
-
Great story
- By Vik on 21-12-2019
-
Life in the Fast Lane
- The Definitive Text
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past two decades, Life in the Fast Lane has grown to become a true staple of Formula 1 literature. In essence a monthly diary of a Benetton grand prix mechanic, this essential book gives a behind-the-scenes account of daily life in the trenches of F1 during the tragic and turbulent 1994 season.
-
How to Build a Car
- By: Adrian Newey
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world's foremost designer in Formula One, Adrian Newey OBE is arguably one of Britain's greatest engineers and this is his fascinating, powerful memoir. How to Build a Car explores the story of Adrian's unrivalled 35-year career in Formula One through the prism of the cars he has designed, the drivers he has worked alongside and the races in which he's been involved.
-
-
Great Book for F1 Fans
- By Vik on 08-01-2020
-
Always Ferrari: The Live Performance Edition
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This special "live performance edition" of Steve Matchett's highly acclaimed story, Always Ferrari - a work first published under the Italian title of Sempre Ferrari, in his book of short stories, These Desired Things - is an audio recording sure to delight. The story itself is a deeply touching tale: Steve Matchett sitting back in a moment of calm reflection, the erstwhile grand prix mechanic, current Formula 1 author and broadcaster recalling some of his many visits to Maranello...Listen to find out more!
-
To Hell and Back
- My Autobiography
- By: Niki Lauda
- Narrated by: Ryan Wichert, Kevin Eason
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Niki Lauda drove a car for sport, but crossed the line between life and death and fought back to even greater glory. Even people who know nothing of Formula One have heard of his crash at Nurburgring in 1976, when he was dragged from the inferno of his Ferrari so badly injured he was given the last rites. Within 33 days, he was racing again at Monza. His wounds bled; he had no eyelids. He was terrified. A year later, he reclaimed his World Championship title.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Anonymous User on 22-07-2020
-
These Desired Things
- A Collection of Short Stories Including Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These Desired Things is a stimulating, philosophical offering; a tour de force in creative writing. Praised in review as "imagery and literature at its finest", defining this book's genre seems largely superfluous - for its immersive, lyrical text is part fiction, part memoir, part autobiography. The chapters are presented as a collection of 11 short stories: all of them varying in their individual plots, their settings and their style, yet all of them remain essential elements of the whole; for running through each is a series of subtle, uniting threads.
-
The Mechanic
- The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane
- By: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Narrated by: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mechanic written and read by Marc 'Elvis' Priestley. In the high-octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium.
-
-
Great story
- By Vik on 21-12-2019
-
Life in the Fast Lane
- The Definitive Text
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past two decades, Life in the Fast Lane has grown to become a true staple of Formula 1 literature. In essence a monthly diary of a Benetton grand prix mechanic, this essential book gives a behind-the-scenes account of daily life in the trenches of F1 during the tragic and turbulent 1994 season.
-
How to Build a Car
- By: Adrian Newey
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world's foremost designer in Formula One, Adrian Newey OBE is arguably one of Britain's greatest engineers and this is his fascinating, powerful memoir. How to Build a Car explores the story of Adrian's unrivalled 35-year career in Formula One through the prism of the cars he has designed, the drivers he has worked alongside and the races in which he's been involved.
-
-
Great Book for F1 Fans
- By Vik on 08-01-2020
-
Always Ferrari: The Live Performance Edition
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This special "live performance edition" of Steve Matchett's highly acclaimed story, Always Ferrari - a work first published under the Italian title of Sempre Ferrari, in his book of short stories, These Desired Things - is an audio recording sure to delight. The story itself is a deeply touching tale: Steve Matchett sitting back in a moment of calm reflection, the erstwhile grand prix mechanic, current Formula 1 author and broadcaster recalling some of his many visits to Maranello...Listen to find out more!
-
To Hell and Back
- My Autobiography
- By: Niki Lauda
- Narrated by: Ryan Wichert, Kevin Eason
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Niki Lauda drove a car for sport, but crossed the line between life and death and fought back to even greater glory. Even people who know nothing of Formula One have heard of his crash at Nurburgring in 1976, when he was dragged from the inferno of his Ferrari so badly injured he was given the last rites. Within 33 days, he was racing again at Monza. His wounds bled; he had no eyelids. He was terrified. A year later, he reclaimed his World Championship title.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Anonymous User on 22-07-2020
-
The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen
- By: Kari Hotakainen
- Narrated by: Luke Thompson
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this superb and authorised portrait of Räikkönen, Kari Hotakainen gets to reveal the side of the man that few beyond his close family and friends have ever seen. Enigmatic and private, Ferrari’s former world champion driver rarely opens up to outsiders, but he granted Hotakainen exclusive access to his world and to his way of thinking. It ensures that this will be a book that will delight all fans of motorsport who have long revered the Finn.
-
-
Great book!
- By Ray on 24-02-2019
-
Faster
- How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war, three misfits banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the apex of motorsport: the Grand Prix. Their quest for redemption culminated in a remarkable race that is still talked about in racing circles to this day - but which, soon after it ended, Hitler attempted to completely erase from history.
-
Jenson Button
- Life to the Limit
- By: Jenson Button
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The full-length, in-depth and intimate autobiography from Jenson Button, one of the greatest racing drivers of his generation. His 17 years in Formula One have seen him experience everything the sport has to offer, from nursing duff cars round the track to winning world championships and everything in between. Here, Jenson tells his full story for the first time in his own honest, intelligent and eloquent style.
-
-
JB sounds like a wonderful person
- By Vik on 08-01-2020
-
How to Be an F1 Driver
- By: Jenson Button
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins, Jenson Button
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his 17 years as a Formula 1 driver, Jenson Button has picked up a thing or two about how to do the job properly. Sure, you need to be able to drive a car fast - and Jenson is on hand to pass on a few tricks of the trade here - but you also need to know the real rules for making it to the top. Like, how to tell a multiple F1 champion they need to check their blind spot. What the difference is between a helmet and a hat, and indeed a 'helmet-hat'. How to practise your champagne spray ahead of the big day.
-
-
Not as good as the other one
- By Vik on 27-06-2020
-
Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna
- The Live Performance Edition
- By: Steve Matchett
- Narrated by: Steve Matchett
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steve Matchett's thought-provoking short story - Breaking Bread with Ayrton Senna - has proved one of the author's most popular pieces of writing - atmospheric, haunting, tender, and poignant, all in equal measure. Set in Brazil, this truly compelling tale of the author's final day as a Formula 1 race mechanic, and how he decides to spend that day - visiting the Morumbi cemetery where Ayrton Senna rests, there spending precious reflective time recalling emotional past events - was first published in his highly acclaimed collection of short stories, These Desired Things.
-
Chasing the Demon
- A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It
- By: Dan Hampton
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of World War II, the United States accelerated the development of technologies that would give it an advantage over the Soviet Union. Airpower, combined with nuclear weapons, offered a formidable check on Soviet aggression. In 1947, the United States Air Force was established. Meanwhile, scientists and engineers were pioneering a revolutionary new type of aircraft which could do what no other machine had ever done: reach mach 1 - a speed faster than the movement of sound - which pilots called "the demon."
-
-
pile of shit
- By Anonymous User on 05-08-2018
Publisher's Summary
Along with three fellow motor racing enthusiasts, Steve Matchett - Formula 1 world champion mechanic; accomplished television broadcaster; and best-selling author - is trapped overnight in New York: a fogbound JFK airport. With no sign of the weather improving, talk between the stranded passengers inevitably turns to Formula 1. During the course of their cloistered night, with conversation fueled by regular trips to the departure lounge bar, our protagonists draw on Matchett's encyclopedic knowledge of grand prix engineering, his easy familiarity with F1 paddock life, to piece together the perfect dream-team Formula 1 race car. By use of his enviable signature talent, his ability to explain complex issues using straightforward, uncomplicated language, Steve Matchett shows us how the various F1 teams have arrived at their current state-of-the-art designs - lays out exactly how a championship winning grand prix car is assembled.
Originally published by Orion (of London) in 2004, The Chariot Makers is Steve Matchett's third book. Along with Life in the Fast Lane, and The Mechanic's Tale, this compelling, insightful story - its warm text reading as a novel - forms the final installment of the author's entertaining, timeless, and highly acclaimed Formula 1 trilogy.
More from the same
What listeners say about The Chariot Makers: The Definitive Text
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- TWP
- 01-03-2019
Great book!
Another fine work by Steve Matchett! Very informative and presented in a casual way that is engaging to both F1 novice and hardcore fans! Enjoy that he narrates his own work too!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- alyoregon
- 13-09-2020
Takes more than a third of the book just to start
The author takes literally over tla third of the entire book just to meander around telling you about the frech house he bought, or the job he took, or the flight he had where he met friends and imagined designing the perfect car. As someone who bought the book to actually HEAR about the technical components of F1 design, i found myself shouting at my phone in frustration waiting for the author to get on with it. Eventually, I just kept skipping chapters until I finally heard and actual word about F1.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ed
- 16-04-2019
just technical enough
Enough detail of the construction and inner workings of an F1 car, as well as the forces acting on it, to keep an engineer happy and interested. Written and spoken in a style that will (I think) appeal to noon-engineers who are curious about F1.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Stephanie
- 19-03-2019
A little more depth for the F1 fan
Well performed and well written. A story within a story with no shortage of information and substance.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 07-03-2019
Great Listen!!
Want to know how to build a Formula 1 car, then this is your book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- James Spellman
- 03-01-2019
A fantastically written book for Formula One tech heads
I’ve always been fascinated about the technical aspects of Formula One and if your like me, then this is the book for you. Every component of the car is explained is wonderful detail with small bits of history thrown in for good measure. Technical enough to make you feel like your learning something. But not so much that you need a degree to enjoy it. Excellent Book 🏎🏁
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jorch
- 29-12-2018
Amazing once again!!
Yet another masterful delivery by the great Steve Matchett!! This is a gem for any F1/Motorsport enthusiast who wants to understand how a race car works. The delightful delivery in a Steve’s own voice brings this book to the next level. It feels like sitting with the chap having coffee and having a gran old time!!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JJ Donohue
- 27-12-2018
Another Spellbinding F1 Journey!
This is my third Steve Matchett audiobook reading and as was true of the others, I was sorry that we ran out of pages. Having previously read all three and enjoyed them immensely, his voice...and narration make the stories so much more meaningful. Just the right balance between the technical and the back stories and his honest emotional accounts of all that happens in the paddock, pits and wherever “Life in the Fast Lane” has taken the author. What a literary talent Mr. Matchett is, in my humble opinion. In addition to the importance of what he has to say, his skill as a narrator is superb. I dare say that his delivery is better than any book narrator I have listened to...ever! I greatly, if not impatiently, look forward to his next audiobook, hopefully “These Desired Things” in the near future. I recommend this book as well as his others to not only F1 enthusiasts, but also to those who appreciate an honest account of life told the way a sensitive scribe records his reality. Thank you, Mr. Matchett!
20 Best Fantasy Audiobooks
This genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next — so look no further than this list to get you started.



20 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks
From the entire history of humanity to astrophysics, to our gut and mental health, dig into this list and learn something new.



Best Australian Podcasts on Audible
Audible Original Podcasts are free for Audible members. Check out this list of home-grown content, from binge-worthy true crime to self-help.


