Roger Parker

Roger Parker has spent a lifetime immersed in vehicle engineering, both professionally and privately. A dedicated MG enthusiast since the early 1960s, he bought his first MG – a 1968 MGB – in 1973 and still owns it today. Over the years, he has modified and upgraded many of his MGs, attracting considerable attention in the national and international motoring press. Most notably, in the mid-1980s he converted his MGB to electronic fuel-injected (Rover) V8 specification, a project that became a significant driving force in the development of the Rover Adder programme, which ultimately evolved into the MG RV8.

Alongside his enthusiast activities, he enjoyed a distinguished career as a highly skilled Police Traffic and Motorway officer. In 1987, he developed the first patrol cars equipped with integrated video recording and enforcement systems. By the mid- 1990s, he had pioneered the introduction of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology into these vehicles, creating the first fully mobile ANPR systems, at a time when previous systems were transportable but limited to static operation.

Following his retirement from the police in 2001, he became a full-time technical author with the MG Owners Club, writing hundreds of motoring magazine features and authoring three MG-related books for Crowood. Although he retired from the MG Owners Club in 2003, he remains actively involved in MG circles.