(I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) Im sure the Renault 4, 5, 6, and 16 had longitudinal engines. 18 November 1906 2 October 1988", Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, " Alec Issigonis | Automotive Hall of Fame", Alec Issigonis Automotive Designer (19061988), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alec_Issigonis&oldid=1135124708, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 19:54. The Mini was designed by. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. He left Morris in 1952 for Alvis just as BMC was created from Austin and Morris (as well as Riley, Wolseley and MG).. The change was not handled well though, with credible accounts of a literally tearful Issigonis wandering around Longbridge trying to find a new office after returning from abroad to find Webster occupying his office. This is the main reason Lord re-hired Issigonis. I was mesmerized and I saw my schoolmate being dropped off by his older brother who was on his way to high school. . The task: a car with lots of space inside with minimum dimensions outside, seats for four passengers, impeccable driving characteristics, superior fuel economy, and a very affordable price. By the time the chassis had been completed, Issigonis had somehow got hold of an Austin supplied works specification supercharged side-valve engine as well. The car, as developed in a prototype form, showed potential as well as technical ambition the cars unitary construction made it relatively light and strong, it offered 6 seats, had a rear mounted transaxle, including the clutch, inboard rear brakes, long wheelbase configuration so typical of Issigonis and a modern, sophisticated 3.5 litre V8 engine. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world. Found an ad for the US market 1100. Alec Issigonis It is much easier to drive without having an accident. View gallery - 6 images. Alexandros Arnold Constantine Issigonis, more commonly known as Alec Issigionis, was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, on November 18, 1906. During 1967, Sir Alec Issigonis approached his BMH* superiors, asking to be temporarily relieved of day to day duties so that he could devote himself to a new vehicle project, one intended to directly replace the Mini. . I remember seeing early Civics with trunks and the early VW Dasher had a trunk, in spite of its fastback bodywork. The mini leaked like a sieve because of the way hed designed the sills and had to be redesigned. Given his disrupted education, unusual background and the tough economic times that were the late 1920s, finding a job was not easy, but in 1928, and by now a British citizen in his own right, Issigonis took his first job in the motor industry, for Edward Gillett in London, through a networking contact he had made at Battersea. Issigonis grandfather, Demosthenis Issigonis, had emigrated from Paros in Greece to Smyrna (as Izmir was then known) in the mid 19th century where his engineering company helped the British built the Smyrna-Aydn Railway, and through this acquired British citizenship. When he turned his attention to the ADO16, Issigonis continued his obsession with the maximisation of passenger space combined with the best possible road holding. [5]:277. People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. Learn more. It was designed to follow on from the Mini and 1100 as the next generation . He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. Austin Maxi: Big On The Inside But Not On The Outside, What a great write up Roger. He was popular for being a Entrepreneur. It did not have everything Issigonis wanted, as he originally planned this car to have a V4 engine rather than the BMC A series. 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. Roger, are you saying that Graham Day ended the consultancy and goodwill payments because he was offended by Issigoniss letter? People over the road from us had a Wolseley Six (top of the range Landcrab) when we were kids. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The original plan called for a large family car by 1960, to be followed by a smaller car and then a city car. I saw this tiny car among the Buicks Oldsmobiles Mercurys and Chevrolet Impalas that were the usual fare. [4] Getting a guy like Issigonis to design a V8 saloon and just chucking it in the bin. Ive often wondered how its 35 horses managed the Berkshires . What a great. That's exactly what he did. It is arguably doubtful that Lord, knowing Issigonis better, would have seen him as the ideal candidate for the overall technical leadership of BMC. Copyright 2023. Stooping just under six feet in height, he looms large at any [], By GEOFFREY CHARLES, Motoring Correspondent A high-level reshuffle of BMC directors areas of responsibility was announced yesterday as part of a streamlining process before completion of the BMH-Leyland merger. https://www.mini.com/ [9] He was cremated at the Lodge Hill Cemetery in nearby Selly Oak. Constantine was very proud of his British citizenship and Alec grew up in a traditional British type of household. Therefore, when Alec's father, Constantine Issigonis, was born in Smyrna in 1872, he was also a British national. The cars quickly found their way to the scrapheap since the cost of repairing the automatic transmission typically was more than the car was worth. the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune were not yet discovered, since the telescope had not yet been invented. Sir Alec Issigonis ( 1906-1988 ) was an exceptional car designer who is best known for his development of the Mini.He was born in Smyrna ( Izmir ) in Turkey, the son of British-Greek parents. Morris Minor 1000s , Dropheads, Travelers , Panel Van, and Pick up trucks. Issigonis planned two versions, known as the TA/350 with a 3.5 litre V8 and TA/175 with a 1750cc, V4 engine. [13], He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1967. August 26, 2019. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. Innovative. Alec Issigonis - Etsy Check out our alec issigonis selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. His grandfather Demosthenis Issigonis . Sir Alecs design which we built won the design centre award. If (and I have no evidence and make no suggestions) a young Issigonis had been outed in, say, the early 1950s, his career progression would likely have been ended even, without any prosecution. He also has one of the finest technical brains in the country and he is [], THE GUARDIAN IAN BREACH interviews LORD STOKES Safety: British or American standards? A truly great man and an honour for me. Issigonis would work on the 9X programme, which included a replacement Mini and a new and innovative gearless transmission system. If only it had had more power and better gearing. As a person whos worked as a CAD drafter for 24 years, I wonder what his objection to CAD was. Diz lenda que ele considerava a rigidez . Unless it was at some very small, unique company; something like TVR comes to mind. And a rally demon was born. Issigonis designed the most enduring small cars of the twentieth century, the Morris Minor (1948) and the Mini (1959) - a testament to his insistence that 'styled' cars dated quickly. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. Issigonis never had any input into MG sports cars or the large, rear drive saloons BMC were still building the late 1960s, and the Austin 3 Litre, based on Issigoniss Austin 1800 was driven by George Harriman. He continued to be responsible for his original XC projects. On his side, Issigonis built a large model railway in the double garage that ran out through the walls and around the garden. It didnt just raise the bar it kicked it into next week ! Issigonis's own automotive career as a designer and engineer in England first took shape during the early 1930s when he began working for the vehicle manufacturer . The rest is racing . This greatly modified machine was replaced with a radical special completed in 1939, constructed of plywood laminated in aluminium sheeting. 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 also insisted that no less than 80% of the cars volume be dedicated to passengers and luggage. Alec Issigonis: straight from a family thrilled by technology. Having been a passenger in an early Austin Landcrab on several occasions I can confirm they are amazingly spacious inside, front and rear. The 1100 and later 1300 outsold the Mini by a considerable margin and remained Britains best-selling car right through the 1960s. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 2939 Words; 12 Pages; 6 Works Cited; Essay on The Pure Voice in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles This guilt convinces Tess that she must now travel to the D'Urbervilles' home and claim kin with them. BLMC says, Archive : Lord Stokes writes to Alec Issigonis, Archive : How Harry Webster is going to shape your car, Archive : The Thoughts of Chairman Stokes, Archive : Issigonis The Giant Who Thought Small, Archive : Creative role for Issigonis in BMC board switch, Archive : Mr Issigonis looks to the future, Archive : Interview Motor meets Alec Issigonis, The cars : Alfa Romeo Alfasud development story, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, Essay : Austin Maestro styling the real killer, Concepts and prototypes : LM10 and LM11 facelifts, Archive : Coventry Council Debates Rover Crisis, News : PSA confirms continued van production in Luton. During the war, Morris Motors undertook military work, notably the development of the Morris lightweight reconnaissance vehicle for the War Department. Enter a Crossword Clue Sort by Length In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. Plenty of space and comfort in the back, as I recall, but my fathers Rover P6 was much more stylish. Alec Issigonis (Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis) was born in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey). By the mid 1950s, as Europe got back on its feet after the war, there had been many attempts to define the modern car, but none was proving to be dominantly successful. By 1941, Issigonis had started work on an advanced post war car, then codenamed Mosquito, which became the Morris Minor. Constantine studied in England. It was, though, used on the postwar MG Y Type saloons. As a young man, Constantine was sent to England to study, and he later married Hulda Prokopp, the daughter of a wealthy German brewer in Smyrna. 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. He showed that cars could be practical and pleasant to ride in and drive, and that size was not everything; he defined the template for the small petrol engined car for 50 years, maybe longer, and showed how modest cars could become wish list items, attracting customer such as Enzo Ferrari. I have heard some slander about his idea of putting the gearbox in the engine sump, but otherwise, he changed transportation for the masses on a scale not seen since Henry Ford. His love/hate relationship with the companys products stayed with []. Oxbotica Toronto Office. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. Back the early 2,000 B.C. He despised such luxuries as radios and comfortable seats, once stating I would like people to sit on nails to be extremely uncomfortable all the time. and declaring that an uncomfortable driver is an alert driver. 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. He would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. Youre right about maintenance. 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. Im sure this was never part of Issigoniss plan, as he was anti-style, but only the 1100 benefited from external help. Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . Alec Issigonis. He said the engine was turning 4500 rpm at 68 mph and commented, This seems fast enough for an obsolete three-bearing long-stroke engine., Digging up the articles is left as an exercise for the student. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. As a matter of interest, go to this site: and click on the Letter From Dr. Alex Moulton link. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. And Alec Issigonis? The war years were spent. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Issigonis spent his early years as an engineer with Morris Motors working on steering and suspension. He convinced Issigonis to ready the Mini for the Rallye Monte Carlo. The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? Autokonstrukteur, GBPortrt mit Zigarette- 1959. Chinese Zodiac: Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Rabbit. It was created in response to a crisis and was a genius piece of packaging which will forever be Sir Alec Issigonis legacy to the automotive world. This car was remarkably light, weighing less than 600lb. By October 1959, the Mini was on sale and when the press first got their hands on BMCs new car, they were not shy to praise it; the Minis unique personality, exceptional space efficiency, lively performance and tenacious front-wheel-drive handling meant that it was a sure fire hit with the critics. In October, 1957, just eight months after first putting pen to paper, the first prototypes were on the road. They paid him to design a tractor safety cab after their own designers had 3 attempts and we built 3 failures. I got to drive his Red mini when I went for fish and chips on a Friday. Our tool for managing your permission to our use of cookies is temporarily offline. The family had an engineering business making marine engines and pumps, and it was from observing his father at work that he determined to become an engineer. Contents Early life and education Career Legacy Honours Some of his cars At some point in the mid-60s they ran an After the New Wears Off feature by an MG 1100 owner in Los Angeles. . The image his cars achieved for BMC was arguably a factor in the survival of the company in the market place, and BMC used his personality extensively in advertising whichyou can imagine Issigonis publicly hating but privately loving. A very enjoyable read on a man whose name I knew in conjunction with so many brilliant designs, but who I previously knew little about. He often had to be discreetly talked through financial documents when he was in the board meetings. [], The Mini is 63 years old this week. 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. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. I saw about 3 Americas in the wild that I can remember, and 1 example of the earlier MG 1100 Sport Sedan. Thanks for a wonderfully researched article! It was apparent to Morriss senior managers that Issigonis was cut from a different cloth compared to his contemporaries. Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. An amazing man, and someone who would probably never rise to prominence in todays auto industry. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. Nearly $1900 was pretty stiff pricing for a car that size in the mid 60s, $150 more than a Bug. In 1957, Issigonis received the project that would make him famous. [11], Issigonis was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1964 Birthday Honours. Morriss chief engineer, A V (Vic) Oak, recognised that Issigoniss greatest asset was his imagination but also noted that it needed to be guided firmly but carefully to bring out the best of it. Who are the richest people in the world? Alec Issigonis Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography . Maybe because theyd lost the Issigonis chassis manners? He was able to share his engineering and automotive interests, through frequent tours of Longbridge in the 1960s, with a first cousin once removed on his mothers side of his family, who later completed a mechanical engineering degree and followed a career in the motor industry. In 1968, he was appointed as Director of Advanced Research of the newly formed British Leyland, and Harry Webster from Triumph became BLMCs Engineering Director. Alec Issigonis. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. His name will always be associated with the Morris Minor and the Mini, but he was a complex man with a complex background, family, story and career. In 1952, just as the British Motor Corporation (BMC) was formed by the merger of Morris and Austin, he moved to Alvis Cars where he designed an advanced saloon with all-aluminium V-8 engine, and experimented with interconnected independent suspension systems. Another Mini! At the end of the Greek-Turkish war in 1922, British subjects in Smyrna were evacuated by the Royal Navy, ahead of the Turkish re-possession of the area from Greece, with manyinitially travelling to Malta. The above photo is a publicity shot with the first produced Mini, at his retirement in 1972. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born in Smyrna, on November 18, 1906 and he is the man who designed one of the most beloved cars in the world, the legendary Mini Cooper! Alec Issigonis, the brilliant British designer of the Morris Minor and the Mini, is one of the commanding figures in the history of automobile design and engineering. It did get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. Another Mini! This undated sketch by Issigonis shows some of this. He inherited his great interest in technology and machines from his father who, shortly after the turn . His efforts were concentrated on two things continuing to promote the 1968 9X concept to BLMC, and working on the concept of a gearless version of the Mini, using a torque converter, that was not a technical success. as an American familiar only with U.S. cars. Issigonis had no input to the Marina (other than it using substantial elements from the Morris Minor of course) or the Allegro, as BMC had passed a thin very development programme to Leyland in 1968, largely due to financial pressures. Sir Alec Issigonis. Daniels effectively resumed his position as Issigoniss right hand man for the next ten years or more, guiding the interpretation of Issigoniss requests to the workshops, draughtsmen, production engineers and accountants. Joseph Lowrey, [], The Mini hit its big landmark in 1969, a seismic year in the history of BMC>Rover. It has since proved to be the template for the small car for nearly 60 years it has still not been bettered and was followed as early as 1963 by the Autobianchi Primula, which had the first end on gearbox on its transverse engine, by the 1965 Peugeot 204 with a configuration closer to the ADO16 but larger, and 1967 by the Simca 1100, the first to combine an end on gearbox and a hatchback. Ford clinging to the T too long was the same sort of corporate inertia that had VW clinging to the Bug too long. Cooper took the prototype out for a spin and realised this fuel-saving people's car cornered like no other. The Axis Powers? Issigonis' creation was remarkable, but it really only became a Mini when he got a little help from his friend, motorsport pioneer John Cooper. Was it to be front or rear engined? Due to time pressures, the interconnected suspension system that Issigonis had planned for the car was replaced by an equally novel, but cruder, rubber cone system designed by Alex Moulton. Even as Britain entered the 1960s, product planning remained something of an alien concept to its native carmakers, the majority of whom viewed such matters as being the sort of recondite nonsense invented in the United States, and best left there. Alternate titles: Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis. Alec Issigonis (Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis) was born in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey). The loss of British sovereignty led not only to a political defeat but also to an oil crisis. If only it had had more power and better gearing. Lord Alfred Robens , Chairman of the National Coal Board, wearing cap and gown as he is installed as the new Chancellor of the University of . Sir Alec Issigonis. Apparently Walter Chrysler could also be difficult to work with. 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.
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