Having trained and worked as a car mechanic in his hometown of Middlewich, England, it was the American muscle cars that renowned fashion photographer Craig McDean saw on TV that kickstarted a life-long fascination with cars. “I grew up watching films like Vanishing Point (1971), Bullitt (1968) and Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), all of which feature American muscle cars as almost characters themselves,” he tells us, “so it became a dream of mine to own one of these cars.”

Created in collaboration with luxury brand Byredo, McDean’s latest limited-edition photo book, Manual, pays tribute to his two loves; fashion and cars, juxtaposing photos of race cars and still-lives of car parts in from old engine parts he purchased online with equally high-octane fashion imagery. Manual marks the second time McDean and Byredo creative director Ben Gorham have teamed up, having previously joined forces two years ago when the brand expanded from perfume into leather and repurposed images from McDean’s 2001 book, I Love Fast Cars, across a range of handbags. Celebrating this latest team-up, Byredo has designed a RTW and accessories capsule collection that includes workwear jackets, tees, scarves, lighters and trucker hats.

“The concept for the book came about a few years ago when I did an editorial that incorporated my archival fashion and car photographs along with a new fashion story I shot,” says McDean of how the idea behind the book first emerged. “This planted the seed in my mind that this could be expanded into a book. Additionally, in 2017 I collaborated with Ben Gorham from Byredo on a capsule collection of handbags inspired by out-takes from my book Fast Cars. This process got me looking through my archives of muscle car and drag racing work that I shot in the late 90s.”

“I worked on cars and motorbike engines from the age of fourteen until about the age of eighteen. I was racing motorbikes at the time and my father and I would rebuild the bikes together after a race. My dad worked for Rolls Royce and was an amazing mechanic himself and taught me so much.”

For McDean, this passion for the fast lane has been a constant: “I currently collect Italian cars as I’ve found an interest in their design and realized the American muscle cars don’t handle the best for driving. They’re really only good in a straight line. My current favourite car to drive is my Maserati Ghibli Spyder,” says McDean, taking us through the impressive cars he’s owned throughout his life. “I owned a vintage Jaguar in college and then my first muscle cars were the 68 Camaro and a Dodge Challenger” – the same model driven by Barry Newman in Vanishing Point, no less.

Craig McDean: Manual is available now via Rizzoli.