Harris Mann is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 car designer. Mann took over from Roy Haynes

Roy Haynes (designer)

Roy D. Haynes was a British automobile designer. Haynes worked for Ford where he was responsible for the design of the 1966 Cortina MkII. In 1967 he moved to BMC where he created the 1969 Mini Clubman facelift for the Mini, and where he designed the 1971 Morris Marina.Haynes was replaced as...

 as chief stylist at British Leyland in 1970.

Biography

Harris Mann was born in London in 1938, and attended engineering school in Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

. Mann's automotive design career started, first with the bus and coach building firm Duple

Duple Coachbuilders

Duple was best known as a British manufacturer of coach and bus bodywork from 1919 until 1989.-History:Duple Bodies & Motors Ltd was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, London...

, followed by a short time working in the U.S. with Loewy Consultancy

Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...

. After a short spell of National Service back in the UK, Mann worked, first for Commer

Commer

Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1500 cc van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974...

, then for Ford

Ford of Britain

Ford of Britain is a British wholly owned subsidiary of Ford of Europe, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Its business started in 1909 and has its registered office in Brentwood, Essex...

.

Cars on which Mann was involved at Ford included the first Escort and the Capri

Ford Capri

Ford Capri was a name used by the Ford Motor Company for three different automobile models. The Ford Consul Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Britain between 1961 and 1964. The Ford Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Europe from 1969 to 1986...

. Mann's boss at Ford, Roy Haynes

Roy Haynes (designer)

Roy D. Haynes was a British automobile designer. Haynes worked for Ford where he was responsible for the design of the 1966 Cortina MkII. In 1967 he moved to BMC where he created the 1969 Mini Clubman facelift for the Mini, and where he designed the 1971 Morris Marina.Haynes was replaced as...

, persuaded Mann to go with him when he moved to BMC

British Motor Corporation

The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...

 to lead their design studio in Cowley in 1967.

Mann worked alongside Haynes on the BMC Marina

Morris Marina

The Morris Marina is a car which was manufactured by the Morris division of British Leyland in the UK throughout the 1970s, which was a period of great turbulence and difficulty for the British car industry. It was known in some markets as the Austin Marina, Leyland Marina, and Morris 1.7...

 project, and when the design department they were working in was relocated to Longbridge

Longbridge plant

The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....

, Haynes left the company, leaving Mann to lead the design team for, what was by then, British Leyland (BL).

Mann took over the Allegro

Austin Allegro

The Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...

 project, and then worked on the Diablo project, which became the Princess. This was followed by the work for which he is most famous, the Triumph TR7

Triumph TR7

The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured from September 1974 to October 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom. It was initially produced at the Speke, Liverpool factory, moving to Canley, Coventry in 1978 and then finally to the Rover plant in Solihull in 1980...

. His final projects with BL were the Metro, and the Maestro

Austin Maestro

The Austin Maestro is a compact-sized 5-door hatchback car that was produced from 1983 to 1994, initially by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and from 1988 onwards by its successor, Rover Group. The car was produced at the former Morris plant in Cowley, Oxford. It was initially...

. After these he left and went freelance. In this capacity he worked for MG Rover on the MG

MG (car)

The MG Car Company is a former British sports car manufacturer founded in the 1920s by Cecil Kimber. Best known for its two-seat open sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés....

 "Z" series (the ZR

MG ZR

The MG ZR is a high-performance MG-branded "hot hatch" version of the Rover 25 supermini-class car, produced by MG Rover at their Longbridge plant in Birmingham from 2001 to 2005...

, ZS

MG ZS

The MG ZS is a sports family car. The ZS is essentially a badge engineered Rover 45 . The 45 in turn is a facelifted version of the Rover 400 which was launched in hatchback form in 1995 and saloon form in 1996. The Rover 400 had much in common with the Honda Civic of 1995-1999...

, and the ZT

MG ZT

The MG ZT is a high-performance MG-branded version of the Rover 75 executive car, produced by MG Rover at their Longbridge plant in Birmingham from 2001 to 2005. An estate version, the MG ZT-T, was also available. Styling is similar to the 75, although uprated springs and chassis modifications make...

).

Today, Mann is involved in independent design consultancy in the automotive sector, and in passing on his experience by tutoring design at Coventry University

Coventry University

Coventry University is a post-1992 university in Coventry, West Midlands, England. Under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992, the institution's name was changed from Coventry Polytechnic to Coventry University...

.