Black Beauties

René Staud, the grand master of automobile photography, has published a new illustrated book. In his coffee-table book Black Beauties, the automotive photographer devotes himself entirely to the colour black. In this extraordinarily book, Staud takes car lovers on a journey through time and presents the top models of the world’s greatest sports car brands. From the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C from the 1930s, to the declared goddess Citroën DS, to the fastest open-top series sports car, the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the star photographer demonstrates the aesthetics that the colour black lends a car.

Staud’s photographs are characterised by his trademark striking style and uniquely showcase the classic elegance and sporting potency of the vehicles.

But this impressive coffee table book does not only inspire with its great photos. The texts are by Jürgen Lewandowski, a luminary in automotive journalism and author of over 90 books on the subject. In addition, comments by Andrea Zagato (CEO Zagato), Gorden Wagener (head of design Mercedes) and Stephen Bayley (journalist and design critic) are included to provide the reader with specific insider knowledge from the industry.

Text in English and German.

René Staud is the grand seigneur of automotive photography. The Magicflash®, a lighting system that he designed and built in 1983 specifically to meet the needs of studio photography, is still state of the art today and part of the secret behind Staud's characteristic style. Over the years, he has had the models of all major car brands in front of his lens. René Staud is a multiple bestselling author with teNeues. Starting with The Mercedes 300 SL Book to The Porsche 911 Book to The Jaguar Book, published in 2021.