Garage Mahal

Always longed to collect the world’s most exquisite cars but lacked the requisite garage space and billionaire’s budget? Well, boutique publisher Assouline has solved this dilemma with its sumptuous new photo book The Impossible Collection of Cars. Inside its tire-black rubber case is a richly photographed compendium of 100 exceptional 20th-century automobiles. From a 1903 Cadillac that looks like little more than an elegant and equine-less stagecoach to a 1999 Lotus that appears to have soared out of a biomechanical-engineering lab, the book takes you on a chronological journey through the greatest exemplars of automotive art.

Such storied marques as Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche, and Bugatti are well represented, as are inventive marvels from Citroen, Tatra, Cord, Facel, and Lancia, among others. The fluid captions and heady introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist Dan Neil only add to the volume’s vroom and covetability. ($650, assouline.com)

BRETT BERK