alexandra lier gets up close and personal with bonneville speedseekers

alexandra lier gets up close and personal with bonneville speedseekers
image © alexandra lier

hamburg-based photographer alexandra lier has launched her book, ‘the world’s fastest place’, during the frankfurt book fair. her photographs bring the viewer to the bonneville salt flats, a unique setting where racers gather to show their incredible passion and powerful machinery. more records for absolute speed have been set at this location than any other place on the planet. every year, devoted gear heads and adrenaline junkies from around the world descend upon the flats to add their names to the record books with their hot rods, streamliners, roadsters, motorcycles and belly tankers.

ralph hudson with his friend and crew chief, ted silver, at the starting line
image © alexandra lier

while flipping through the pages, the reader can practically feel the heavy vibes of the intricate and powerful machinery pictured, or catch a glimpse of the fever flashing from the eyes of the drivers portrayed. ‘the world’s fastest place’ is no ordinary coffee table book. the sheer amount of horsepower rumbling off the pages calls out for your attention and the audio of the cars streaking off the starting line is available in the qr code, bringing you even closer.

it might seem like a mirage, but there really is a candy shop on the salt
image © alexandra lier

‘the world’s fastest place’ is alexandra lier’s tribute to the vanishing era of internal combustion and fossil fuel racing. these are portraits of a generation of speedseekers who cherish the smell of gasoline and oil like the very air we breathe; people whose sense of purpose is tied to the creation of record setting.

jack in his garage
image © alexandra lier

the right tools
image © alexandra lier

this is the true ‘taj mahal’ of spectating on the flats: massive shade, a cool carpet for salt-weary feet, and cold beer
image © alexandra lier

don has held many records at bonneville since he began racing back in 1996
image © alexandra lier

this 1952 buick super riviera has been chopped, dropped, stretched, and given a brutal futuristic nose job
image © alexandra lier

the world’s fastes ferrari
image © alexandra lier

saltlake fan bob and his rat rod
image © alexandra lier

the bonneville speedweek, documented with a super 8 camera
video courtesy of speedseekers

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.