The Winged Rocket Cars of Alexander Lippisch: Designer of the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet

A decade before work began on the infamous Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered target defence interceptor, designer Alexander Lippisch was working on another winged rocket-powered machine - but this one also had four wheels.
Having teamed up with rocket pioneer Max Valier, Lippisch drafted some of the world's most unusual and innovative car designs. He gave them wings and intended them to use aerodynamic forces to remain glued to the track as they rounded bends at hit speed.
These ideas are found everywhere today in high-tech racing series such as Formula 1 but at the time they were revolutionary. Lippisch's genius took him in another direction however - and by the beginning of the Second World War he was putting his wing designs to another use entirely.
This short ebook presents the story of Lippisch's early experiments with rocket power and presents his early car designs in full.