Like us, you probably enjoy old racing dramas like “Grand Prix” and “Le Mans,” and new efforts like "Rush," as much for the racing footage as for the plots (which, let's face it, tend to be minimal). But there’s no substitute for the real thing -- an actual, unstaged glimpse into one of motorsport’s most memorable eras in living color. Which is why we’re glad we stumbled onto “9 Days in Summer,” a Ford-produced promotional documentary film detailing the development of the phenomenally successful Cosworth DFV engine and the Lotus Formula One cars that first used it.

The Cosworth V8, and the delicate Lotus 49 built around it, got off to a rousing start with Jim Clark’s victory at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix (our research on the scale model version of that car is what turned us on to the film). But continuing success was hard-won, with Cosworth-powered Lotus cars retiring from a number of subsequent races due to mechanical troubles before everything was dialed in.

“9 Days in Summer” gives you an insider's perspective of the whole saga. From the stylish intro to the groovy score (equal parts Lalo Schifrin and Aaron Copland) to the editing and pacing, much of the documentary will feel familiar if you’ve watched the era’s racing flicks. Some of it is clearly done for the benefit of the camera -- the re-enactments can seem bit melodramatic at times, even -- but stunning up-close footage pulled from the ’67 season, and the glorious sounds accompanying it, are as real as it gets. And from the discussion of compressed development timetables to footage of Ken Duckworth designing a wildly successful F1 engine on a drafting board, it’s clear that Ford, Cosworth and Lotus pulled off something incredible.

There’s a hilariously detailed blow-by-blow recap of the doc at the People’s Encyclopedia if you absolutely must know what you’re getting into, but our advice is to just stop what you're doing right now and watch it -- or make some time over the long holiday weekend to dive into the 48-minute show. You won’t regret it.

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