Rod Mansfield

John Roderick Mansfield (born 29 May 1934) is a British engineer and business executive, influencing British motorsport, and ultimately many British boy racers.

Early life
He belonged to the 750 Motor Club.



Ford
He created the Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) department at the Dunton Technical Centre in Essex in 1980, and ran it until 1990. It produced the more-powerful roadworthy versions of the Ford Sierra.

Dieter Hahne took over the department in January 1991; he had been manager of the Medium Cars programme for Ford.

Lotus
He 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. He left Lotus in February 1996. Group Lotus employed around 900 people at its Norfolk factory.

Personal life
He lives in Little Burstead in Essex. He married Valerie Jones in 1958 in Surrey.