And Alec Issigonis? How about an uncomfortable driver is a distracted driver? Meanwhile from 1930, he raced a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven, and fitted it with an independent front suspension of his own design. It was as modern and progressive in 1948 as the ADO16 Morris 1100 was in 1962, and let down only by the relatively weak and old side valve engine. Certainly, it was not the right job for him, taking him too far away from the sketching and ideas, and into meetings about pay scale reviews and marketing policies. Designer Alec Issigonis was born in the southern Anatolian city of Smyrna in 1906. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis ( 18. listopadu 1906 Smyrna - 2. jna 1988 Birmingham) byl ecko - britsk automobilov konstruktr narozen na zem dnenho Turecka. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. Dr.Ing. : Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis , CBE, FRS, RDI 19061118-1988102 . It was one of the first days of the new school year early September and I was walking up the sidewalk and turning the corner to head for the campus. [11], Issigonis was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1964 Birthday Honours. Manual transmissions seemed to hold up ok,lasting at least as long as the engine. I love the comment made by Red Foreman on That 70s Show when asked about the Toyota Corolla he had recently purchased due to the gas crisis: Bob: Red, a Toyota? Morris Minor 1000s , Dropheads, Travelers , Panel Van, and Pick up trucks. [], In Part One of this fascinating series, which originally appeared in Vehicle Engineer,AROnline Contributor IanElliott applies his insider knowledge to spelling out the exact sequence of mergers that led to [], Photography: Martin Bell One of the design team who worked on the original Mini has revealed how the revolutionary small car came about. His inability to accept guidance (stubbornness may be a better term) also led to some misjudged products the Maxi comes to mind but perhaps the purity of hispredominantly engineering solution with poor execution in the areas Issigonis didnt or wouldnt appreciate (looks, practicality, ergonomics, product revisions, marketing) was also overlooked by too many within BMC. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. Learn how your comment data is processed. For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. Having been a passenger in an early Austin Landcrab on several occasions I can confirm they are amazingly spacious inside, front and rear. Young Alec grew up in a very affluent environment, with influences from Germany and Greece (he grew up speaking German and Greek), rather than Turkey and Britain. Not something one would anticipate until it is experienced. The childhood . If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us. The [], CARS AND DRIVERS by GEOFFREY CHARLES Whatever the outcome of the BMH-Leyland merger in model rationalization, intensified marketing or expansion-and any joint project will not appear for at least 3 [], MOTOR WHY IS THE ADO16? From 1925-1928 he studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. The Mini quickly became cult and had enthusiastic fans worldwide. All I know is, which car I would rather be in driving if there was any tricky situation [], DAILY MIRROR By Richard Sear No man looks less designed to start off the cult of the miniature. Issigonis was excused service in the armed forces and remained at Cowley working on military vehicles of various types, including a very basic compact load carrier often described as a motorised wheelbarrow intended for use in jungle conditions together with an amphibious version designed for use by the Royal Navy. Day terminated the consultancy agreement, without any more consultation. To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. Subsequently my main triumph of design is a carbon block conveyor that fit into an oddly shaped spot while using less pieces of steel than its predecessor. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industry's great independent thinkers. Alec Issigonis is a famous Entrepreneur. Unless it was at some very small, unique company; something like TVR comes to mind. In response to the Suez Oil Crisis, British Motor Company asked Issigonis to head the development of a small, fuel-efficient car that would become the Morris Mini. The Renault 14 was transversely engined, from 1976. Rover used the freewheel extensively, on cars and Land Rovers, into the 1960s. The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. Issgoniss retirement, with George Turnbull, then Managing Director of Austin-Morris. On the right is Alec Issigonis and standing next to him is John Cooper. Prior to his death, Alec and his mother travelled overland to London. Demosthenis acquired British nationality through the work he did for the British-built Smyrna-Aydin Railway. Issigonis would later state that pure mathematics (is) the enemy of every truly creative man. He began his engineering career at Morris Motors Ltd. in 1936 as a steering and suspension engineer. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. But accounts do suggest it done in a pretty crass way. Shunning all offers of silver service with the management. He was impossible to work with, had Henry Fords arrogance and nearly bankrupted the company like Ford, by refusing to listen to anyone. Engine access on the Mini was very awkward, and this was only improved on the ADO16 because Jack Daniels was able to keep Issigonis away from the detail work, which was largely done at Cowley in Oxford rather than Longbridge. Issigoniss first project was to design an independent suspension for Rootes highest volume car, the Hillman Minx. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Thanks for the great article. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS (18 November 1906-2 October 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959. It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. The Austin/Morris Mini was Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS, RDI (Alec Issigonis) was born on 18 November 1906 in Smyrna in Greece (now Izmir, Turkey) and would become world-renowned for designing the Mini and Morris Minor for BMC. Generation. The 1100 and later 1300 outsold the Mini by a considerable margin and remained Britains best-selling car right through the 1960s. Vic Oak and Reginald Hanks, Morriss Managing Director did though, arranging a 50% salary increase for Issigonis in April 1948, to 1500 per year. Learn more. August 26, 2019. [14], He was granted the rank of Knight Bachelor in the 1969 Birthday Honours[15] and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 22 July of the same year. The first car to repeat the concept of the Mini was the ADO16, which is often considered to be Issigoniss finest hour. Thanks for this terrific bio on one of the all-time greats in the field. Issigonis name will always be associated with the Morris Minor, built for over 20 years, and with the Mini, a car he designed very quickly in the late 1950s and which was built for over 40 years, throughout the tumultuous history of BMC and BLMC, ending only after the BMW led break up of the Rover Group in 2000. When Alvis cancelled the project, Issigonis was invited by BMC Chairman Sir Leonard Lord to return to BMC at Longbridge, as Chief Body and Chassis engineer, and reporting to BMC Technical Director Sydney Smith. Well, he went down in history as the father of the Mini and was even raised to nobility for his services. Alec Issigonis was a Greek-British automobile engineer and designer, best known for designing the Mini, a compact car that became a cultural icon in Britain and other countries. Issigonis was a remarkable engineer and obviously made his mark. Issigonis studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. Was it to be water or air cooled? The big steering wheels angle was a bit bus-like though. I think you can see a narrower car in one of the pre-production photos, above. My doodles and sketches are not the work of an academic engineer. Sir Alec Issigonis: an insight into the great man, from an interview originally published in Autocar magazine to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Mini. After studying engineering, he joined Morris Motors in 1936 as a suspension designer. Sir Alec Issigonis started his career at Humber, known for their Humber Snipe and Humber Hawk models, even Queen Elizabeth II owned a Humber. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. And the 1800 the rear seat really seemed limousine-like for the size of the car. The war prevented this design from going into production but it was later used on the MG Y-type. I do not know how many I have owned Morrises, Austins and MGs. He was flattered to be copied, though. The key point to the genesis of the Minor is that Issigonis owned the whole design, including the exterior style, the interior,which had some of the starkness and simple functionality familiar from Issigoniss later designs. BMC had already developed, and asked outside consultants to develop, several concepts on various themes, none of which met the targets Lord had set, who was also determined to establish an internal capability to think, as we would now say, outside the box. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Nice to see that blue Morris Oxford just the same as our first car that I remember. By the time the chassis had been completed (hard labourit was all done by hand, no power tools), Issigonis had moved to Morris Motors Limited, but Austin supplied a "works" specification supercharged side-valve engine. Unfortunately the ADO16 did not do well in the U.S. as the Austin America, which was imported here in an attempt to eat some of VWs lunch in the late 1960s. He was born in 1906 in a city that is now known as Izmir, in Turkey which itself can trace its . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I caught up to my mate and I said thats a really cool car, what is it? Thats my BrothersMini Cooper. Born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now zmir, Turkey) on November 18, 1906, Issigonis immigrated to England with his family in 1922 and later studied engineering at . A colleague of his had a VW Polo then and kept shaking his head: Well, yes, if there were no other compact cars in the world , Mr. Roger Carr, Thank you. The XC (experimental car) code names assigned for the new cars were XC/9001, for a large comfortable car, XC/9002, for a medium-sized family car, and XC/9003, for a small town car. His motor industry career at Humber, and during his time there, he competed in motor racing notably designing his own lightweight version of a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven with his own front axle. Speaking of steering, one of the earlier reviews of the Mini contained the sentence, This is the first car Ive driven that caused me to laugh out loud just going around a corner ! Or words to that effect . He managed to obtain his Diploma, but was not admitted to advanced studies. His mother was from Bavaria. At the end of 1955, Issigonis was recruited back into BMC - this time into the Austin plant at Longbridge - by its chairman Sir Leonard Lord, to design a new model family of three cars. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. Alec Issigonis - Etsy Check out our alec issigonis selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Austin Maxi: Big On The Inside But Not On The Outside, What a great write up Roger. That is how many of us know about these cars or about many 1960s British cars, in general. He still worked to his consultancy agreement but did so almost exclusively from home, briefing and debriefing nominated BL engineers each morning. Noch ein Mini! But back in the day, young UK petrolheads had the time of our lives with Minis, modified in countless ways, rocketing around on twisty English roads, and in weekend motorsports. [citation needed], Issigonis was nicknamed "the Greek god" by his contemporaries. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. [1][2], Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. . [], By Clifford Webb British Leyland are selling the Mini at a loss despite the latest price increase and the fact that after 14 years it is still their top export [], Lord Stokes writes to Sir Alec Issigonis on this day. As a matter of interest, go to this site: and click on the Letter From Dr. Alex Moulton link. Cooper took the prototype out for a spin and realised this fuel-saving people's car cornered like no other. The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "an alec issigonis family car launched in 1969 (6,4)", 10 letters crossword clue. He was a race car driver during the 30's and 40's. Required fields are marked *. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. The concept of the transverse engine and gearbox combined with FWD, which had previously been used only with two-cylinder two-stroke engines by DKW (since the 1920s), Lloyd and Saab, was adapted by Issigonis for the four cylinder A-block engine for the Mini. Issigonis and Dowson then travelled into Austria to the mountain climb competition at the then new Grossglockner Hochalpen Pass. I wanted to know the genesis. They represent many years of design study in attempts to produce the best value for money in the field of small car design. This car was remarkably light, weighing less than 600lb.