British engineer Michael Parkes raced successfully at the highest levels of motorsport and headed the development of the Hillman Imp, a car that many think was a technologically superior contemporary of the Mini Cooper (while the Imp’s design was brilliant; dealer support, production quality, and marketing were not so the little Imp is not nearly as well known as the iconic British Mini). Parkes was recruited by Enzo himself to develop race cars for the Ferrari at a time when the Scuderia was dominant. Later in life, Parkes would develop the Lancia Stratos into a winner of multiple world rally championships. Any one of those accomplishments would make a resume notable. Parkes had the almost singular distinction of engineering both production and racing cars, the latter earning considerable success, while also winning behind the wheel.
You probably don’t even know his name.