Ted Cutting
Edward John 'Ted' Cutting (11 October 1926 – 22 March 2012) was a British automotive engineer. He designed the body, engine, chassis, suspension and fully engineered the Aston Martin DBR1, winner of the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1]
Early life
Cutting was born in Clapham, London and educated at Kingston Technical School.
Career
Cutting began his career aged 15 as a draughtsman with the KLG spark plug company. In 1946 he joined the
After leaving Aston Martin in the early 1960s, he joined the Glacier Bearing Company designing large bearings for steam turbines and was named on Company patents.
In 1966 he joined the Ford Motor Company as a race car design engineer and initially began work on the GT40 racing project with John Wyer at Advanced Vehicles in Slough. Circumstances changed so he was asked to join Ford of Britain in advanced chassis engineering at the beginning of the Capri project and then working through advanced pre-production on all car models up to the Granada, introducing many innovations along the way. During the latter stages of his career at Ford he was engaged in working at relationships within the Governments of Europe and The Common Market on the development international motor vehicle construction law. He remained with the company until his retirement in 1985.
Retirement
During retirement he was often engaged as a consultant on technical and legal matters including a return to Aston Martin advising
In 2008 Stuart Bailey and Brian Joscelyne, both creative professionals and active members within the Aston Martin Owners Club, persuaded Cutting to verbally record his story and put the record straight for the Club archives, as he had been reluctant to write an autobiography. From these extensive audio tapes when transcribed, they formed the basis of a book covering eight decades, which once Cutting personally edited and gave access to his previously written articles, documents, illustrations and many original photos, a comprehensive book under his total control was produced, with his full consent to publish just prior to his demise. The 268 page book (self published), titled Cutting Edge Conversations includes a DVD of a full IMECHE lecture on Racing Astons in 2003 given by Cutting. The limited edition, heavy A4 volume is exclusive to the Aston Martin Heritage Trust.
References
- ^ "Ted Cutting". Telegraph. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.