Victory By Design

Victory by Design is a series of documentary films produced in the 1990s and 2000s on the subject of famous racing automobile marques. The series began as a single film focused on Porsche, directed by award winning film-maker Tony Maylam, executive produced by Clive Pullan and hosted by former racing driver Alain de Cadenet. Further episodes - beginning with an episode on Ferrari were commissioned by American cable channel Speedvision who brought in Martin Stockham to produce the new programs.

More specials, focused on Maserati, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Lotus, Corvette, "Ford Muscle" (primarily covering the Ford-powered Shelby Cobra, Shelby-built high-performance Mustangs, and the GT40), and "Grand Prix Greats" were ordered by Speedvision's successor, the Fox owned cable channel, Speed Channel. The "Grand Prix Greats" episode is notable in that instead of a single manufacturer, it covers various notable Grand Prix cars from 1908 to 1960, including Renault, Lancia, and the Cooper Car Company. The series has been consistently popular on the channel and also in the DVD market.

Each program features exceptional racing and street cars from the marque. Generally, the cars are presented in chronological order of their production dates. For each car, de Cadenet describes the historical background and impetus for its design. Important mechanical aspects of the car are also pinpointed and described by de Cadenet. The cars are then filmed as de Cadenet enters the cockpit, straps himself in, starts the engine, and test drives them.

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