Rod Mansfield
{{Short description|British engineer and business executive (born 1934)}}
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{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}
John Roderick Ward Mansfield (born 29 May 1934)[https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/IRD_pNUXK5TRkUyS1hvlD9CBrI0/appointments Companies House] is a British engineer and business executive, influencing British motorsport, and ultimately many British boy racers.
Early life
Mansfield belonged to the 750 Motor Club.
File:1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth Group A - Allan Moffat Bathurst (5061454124).jpg
Career
=Ford=
He created the Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) department at the Dunton Technical Centre in Essex in 1980,[http://www.autonews.com/article/20030602/SUB/306020857/ford-in-europe---an-historical-time-line Ford of Europe] and ran it until 1990. It produced the more-powerful roadworthy versions of the Ford Sierra.[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/happiness-is-a-turbo-charged-35-litre-v8-1579861.html Independent October 1995]
Dieter Hahne took over the department in January 1991; he had been manager of the Medium Cars programme for Ford.Cambridge Weekly News Thursday 24 January 1991, page 25
=Lotus=
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.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/lotus-car-group-sues-former-directors-1578210.html Independent October 1995] He left Lotus in February 1996.[http://www.autonews.com/article/19960805/SUB/608050806/rebel-lotus-bosses-out Autonews 1996] Group Lotus employed around 900 people at its Norfolk factory.
Personal life
Mansfield lives in Little Burstead in Essex. He married Valerie Jones in 1958 in Surrey.
References
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External links
- [http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/person/rod-mansfield Motorsport Magazine]
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{{S-ttl|title= Managing Director of Lotus Cars |years= August 1995 - February 1996}}
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Category:British automotive engineers
Category:British motorsport people