Roy Donald Haynes (12 March 1924 – 22 March 2020) was a British automobile designer. Haynes worked for Ford as model line director for Ford of Europe where he was responsible for the design of the 1966 Cortina MkII and worked on the design for the 1966 Ford Zodiac/Zephyr Mk4.

Life and career

Roy Donald Haynes was born on 12 March 1924. In 1967, he was recruited to BMC by Joe Edwards, working from the Pressed Steel Fisher studios in Cowley. While at BMC, Haynes put forward a plan to build models on just five platforms and reduce the number of brands to make the company profitable. His first job was to work on the shortly to be released

Austin Maxi The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin Motor Company, Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. Despite its practical design and remarkable space efficiency (it is shorter, narrow ...

, where he redesigned the front and rear ends. Further work was done on facelifting the successful AD016 Austin/Morris 1100 range, which failed to appear after the formation of the British Leyland (BL) in 1968 and was replaced by the

Austin Allegro The Austin Allegro is a small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland (BL) from 1973 until 1982. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent ...

. Further projects included the 1969 Mini Clubman facelift for the

Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

which had been planned as a hatchback in 1968 and the design of the 1971

Morris Marina The Morris Marina is a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive C-segment, small family car that was manufactured by the Morris Motors, Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace the Morris Minor in the Mo ...

, which were accepted by the management team at BL with minimal modifications; unexpected as he was up against designs by

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (; ; short for Pininfarina Società per Azioni) is an Italian automotive design, car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 ...

and

Michelotti Michelotti is an Italian surname, derived from the given name Michele. Notable people with the surname include: * Biordo Michelotti (1352–1398), Italian mercenary soldier leader * Giovanni Michelotti (1921–1980), Italian automotive designer ...

. Further projects included Project Condor which was a sports car based on the Morris Marina. Haynes left BL in 1969, just 16 months after joining from Ford, as the new management team closed the Pressed Steel design studio at Cowley, moving the department to

Longbridge Longbridge is an area in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire, historically being within this place. Public transport Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus ...

. It was reported that the journey from his home in Essex was a step too far. Haynes was replaced as chief stylist of, what was by then,

British Leyland British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...

in 1970 by

Harris Mann Harris William Mann (27 April 1938 – 14 August 2023) was a British car designer. He took over from Roy Haynes (designer), Roy Haynes as chief stylist at British Leyland in 1970. Biography Harris Mann was born in London on 27 April 1938, ...

, whom he had taken with him to BMC from Ford. In 1976, Haynes formed ElecTraction Ltd

Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced i ...

and designed several electric vehicles for the company through his other company Roy Haynes Automotive International, including the Rickshaw, Tropicana and the concept Precinct, but the company closed in 1979. In 2012 in an interview with ''This is Total Essex'', Haynes was promoting his idea for a new London airport design on

Foulness Island Foulness Island () is a closed island on the east coast of Essex in England, which is separated from the mainland by narrow creeks. In the 2001 census, the usually resident population of the civil parish was 212, living in the settlements of ...

in Essex. Haynes died in Essex on 22 March 2020, at the age of 96.

References

1924 births 2020 deaths Ford designers British automobile designers Place of birth missing {{UK-engineer-stub