An 852-page book on Formula One for just Rs 17 lakh.

Vijaya Rathore, ET Bureau Oct 26, 2012, 06.30AM IST.

UK publishing house Opus Media will launch its The Official F1 Opus, an 852-page book weighing 37 kilograms on Friday, but a few enthusiasts like Shah Rukh Khan have already booked a copy. Next in line would be one on Sachin Tendulkar that will have a piece of art created from the little master's DNA structure. The Opus book coming up on Shah Rukh Khan has a more modest claim: his personal diaries of last 20 years.

Karl Fowler, CEO, Opus Media, told ET that there will be around 100 Official F1 Champions edition copies, 10 per cent of which will be allocated to India. "We pre-book the orders and are already oversubscribed in India for the F1 Champions edition," says Fowler without naming those impatient to own the said property.

The list, however, has names of prominent businessmen, doctors and lawyers from India's HNI (high net worth individuals) club - each copy has a page signed by 22 living F1 Champions.

The first copy of the F1 Champions' edition will be taken to all the F1 Grand Prix racing venues across the world starting from India, and be brought back same time next year for auctioning. "We are targeting a bid price of $1 million and the proceeds will be used for charity," he said.

Opus Media, who has partnered with a Delhi-based firm RK Global, has 11 titles including Manchester United, Michael Jackson, Ferrari, The Official Super Bowl, and Arsenal Football Club and Celtics, and is currently working on a host of new projects, including Playboy Inc.

The Tendulkar Opus, which is expected to be launched early next year, will come at a comparatively affordable price tag of $200, however, the first 10 copies will be sold at $100,000 (over Rs 5 lakh).

"The idea is not only to bring international Opus projects to India, but also develop and tell Indian stories to the rest of the world," Fowler said.

The company used Tendulkar's saliva sample to pull out his DNA structure. A copy of the structure was sent to an artist, who transformed it into a mosaic art. "When you are looking that piece of art, you are basically looking at the minutest particle inside Sachin Tendulkar. It can't get closer than this," Fowler said.

Usually it takes about two years for an Opus project with a minimum investment of $2 million. For Sachin's Opus discussions started in 2007. "There was no point launching it when he was at his 98th or 99th century, to tell the whole story it was important to wait till be achieved the 100th," Fowler said. The exact number of copies has not yet been decided, but the company has already started taking pre-orders. "About 75-80 per cent of the pre-orders have to come from India," he said.