Rod Mansfield
John Roderick Ward Mansfield (born 29 May 1934)[1] is a British engineer and business executive, influencing British motorsport, and ultimately many British boy racers.
Early life
[edit]Mansfield belonged to the 750 Motor Club.
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Career
[edit]Ford
[edit]He created the Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) department at the Dunton Technical Centre in Essex in 1980,[2] and ran it until 1990. It produced the more-powerful roadworthy versions of the Ford Sierra.[3]
Dieter Hahne took over the department in January 1991; he had been manager of the Medium Cars programme for Ford.[4]
Lotus
[edit]Mansfield became Managing Director of Lotus Cars on 14 August 1995, when Lotus was owned by Bugatti, who had bought the company from General Motors in 1993.[5] He left Lotus in February 1996.[6] Group Lotus employed around 900 people at its Norfolk factory.
Personal life
[edit]Mansfield lives in Little Burstead in Essex. He married Valerie Jones in 1958 in Surrey.
References
[edit]- ^ Companies House
- ^ Ford of Europe
- ^ Independent October 1995
- ^ Cambridge Weekly News Thursday 24 January 1991, page 25
- ^ Independent October 1995
- ^ Autonews 1996
