SPECIALIST luxury coachbuilder Radford, which has directors including race driver Jenson Button and TV presenter Ant Anstead, has appointed Dan Burge as its chief executive officer.

Mr Burge, who was previously commercial director at Lotus Engineering and has held senior roles with Williams Advanced Engineering and Prodrive, brings more than 20 years of automotive and engineering management experience to the role.

He will report to the company’s four co-founders: Button, Anstead, car designer Mark Stubbs and business advisor Roger Behle.

Mr Behle said: “We are honoured that an automotive executive of Dan’s calibre, with such a wealth of automotive experience, is joining Radford.

“We are so glad to be welcoming Dan and his family to California, where our business is headquartered. His compensation package, incidentally, will include a surfboard.

“Dan is perfectly suited to help us carry the torch of our new luxury coachbuilding brand to the world. He joins us at the perfect stage in the Radford journey, and his skills and history of success in the specialist automotive sector will be invaluable as we continue to expand the Radford brand globally, unveil our first model, and advance our pipeline of new projects.”

Mr Burge said: “I think now is the ideal time to join Radford, being part of the company from the start. I’m looking forward to working closely with the co-founders and the growing, talented team that is being assembled.

“For me, Radford presents a compelling opportunity. I am looking forward to leveraging the significant specialist automotive experience that I have garnered working for other automotive suppliers and global British brands, to lead the development and delivery of Radford’s future strategy. It’s an exciting and prosperous future.”

Radford, which creates luxury commissions for its clients, replicates the name of the famous 1940s to 1960s UK designer and coachbuilder Harold Radford who produced bespoke cars including George Harrison’s psychedelic Mini, shooting brake versions of Rolls-Royce and Bentley models, and comedian Peter Sellers’ luxury Radford Mini De Ville GT that he drove out of a giant wedding cake as a gift for his new bride, actress Britt Ekland.

The company is preparing to unveil its first model, codenamed Project 62, in the coming months.

By Neil Dowling