Born in Birmingham, Mike studied at Wrekin College, Shropshire, going on to National Service for the Army Infantry Commission in Korea, Kenya and Japan, acquiring a taste for speed and danger along the way. A Rootes-qualified mechanical engineer, and always interested in cars, Mike ran the family dealership, plus built and club raced an MG TA and two quick Specials. Mike worked as a design/development engineer for Vauxhall in Luton before spending 23 years with Ford, where he was involved in engineering, product planning, marketing and motorsport. It was during his time there that he project-managed and planned the Ford Rallye Sport cars in the 70s and 80s, and was first inspired by his boss, Stuart Turner, to write this book. Mike has also worked for TWR/JaguarSport, where he was project manager for the Jaguar XJ220 and acted as operations director for Aston Martin. Mike is now Managing Director of KBD Design. In his spare time he is designing/renovating an old house in France, where he moved in 2002.