However, at the end of 1956, following fuel rationing brought about by the Suez Crisis, Issigonis was ordered by Lord to bring the smaller car, XC/9003, to production as quickly as possible. 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. Alec Issigonis It is much easier to drive without having an accident. On the surface it didnt appear very desirable to Me, or to prospective new-car buyers. His father was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from the Greek island, Paros. Vic Oak and Reginald Hanks, Morriss Managing Director did though, arranging a 50% salary increase for Issigonis in April 1948, to 1500 per year. Professor Alex Moulton. Alec Issigonis is a famous Entrepreneur. Astrologers and astronomers could only work with planets visible to the eye. People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. He attended London's Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. Alviss options for body shell production were being reduced, at the same as the estimated costs of the body manufacture doubled. Issigonis usually won, even when entered in the 1100cc class if there was no 750cc category. He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. BMC made cuts of 6,000 in the labour force almost overnight and without consultation, whilst Lord noted the sales of the imported European bubble cars. Plenty of space and comfort in the back, as I recall, but my fathers Rover P6 was much more stylish. August 26, 2019. The Minor was, of course, a huge success, for Nuffield and for Issigonis. MINI. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder. In 1952, the year BMC was formed, he moved to Alvis where he designed an advanced saloon, and experimented with interconnected independent suspension systems. Happy birthday to the Mini! That's exactly what he did. ADO15, 16 & 17 (36792752942).jpg 1 712 1 936; 589 KB Alec Issigonis. While much derided for its lack of style, I do love the huge smile he put on the front of the original 1800 Landcrab. He was a race car driver during the 30s and 40s. In 1928 his first job was in the design office of Gillett, an engineering firm in London. Alecs education details are not available at this time. As a Morris Minor owner I appreciated it . Again,Issigonis was able to get close to some of the most impressive cars of the era, and take ideas and influences home. And a rally demon was born. He immigrated to Britain in 1922, studied engineering and in 1948 masterminded the Morris Minor, the first British car to sell more than a million. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. The ways in which things went sour for BMC , and for Alec himself, are all too well known: but with this little car, they surely both earned a big place in history. He title at Alvis was Engineer in charge of passenger car design. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. Styled by Pininfarina, it was launched as the Morris 1100 in 1962, and a year later as the Austin 1100, and the clean, classical lines of the car served BMC well. I was eight when my dad bought one of those brand new cars at a reduced price from the NYC dealer $850 for an Austin 850 ($6,800 in 2016 money) He was a race car driver during the 30's and 40's. Youre right about maintenance. MINI, official partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, has unveiled its new London 2012 special, Keith Adams Well, Christmas and Boxing Day are out of the way and the, The replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000 never took off, thanks in part to a poor, British Motor Holdings the joining of BMC and Jaguar, The cars : Mini (ADO15) development story Part One, Concepts and prototypes : BMC 9X (1968-87), Blog : Why the Italians beat us to a supermini by a decade, History : The Road to Perdition Part One, Interview : Alec Issigonis on the BMC 1100, Archive : Mini Shortlisted For Car Of The Century, Archive : Mini still sold at a loss. 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. Issigonis was an engineer, first and foremost, but I have used the terms design/designer in this piece, in the way that was contemporaneous to Issigonis and as he would have understood it, although we would now use use engineering. 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. In 1956, the focus was shifted towards a new economy car and from here, the Mini was born in 1959. . His mother was Bavarian, the daughter of a brewer. Sort By: Better Essays. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. The big steering wheels angle was a bit bus-like though. He [], DAILY EXPRESS By David Benson Harry Webster is a quiet, unassuming, generous man of 54. The car was launched at the 1948 London Motor Show, alongside the Land Rover and Jaguar XK120, and the rest is pure CC history. I do not know how many I have owned Morrises, Austins and MGs. The Royal Navy Marines evacuated British Subjects, including the Issigonis family, from Smyrna before Turkey attacked. Issigonis quickly arranged for Jack Daniels to move up from Cowley to Longbridge to rebuild their close rapport. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. You could, however, discern Issigoniss influence on some of BMCs light commercials, especially the underfloor engined JU and walk through EA vans of the late 1960s. 130 King Street West, Exchange Tower, Suite 1800, Toronto, Canada, M5X 1E3. BL were in thrall of the myth theyd created, but the buying public had much more sense. The Axis Powers? It had one option an AM radio, hung below the dash. Issigonis had some success at club racing level and in 1935 travelled with his lifelong friend George Dowson to the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. *27/02/01 The new Mini which will go on sale in the UK summer 2001, was , being unveiled for the first time. At the age of 30 he worked for the Morris Engineering Department and celebrated his first success with the construction of the Morris Minor. 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. Alec Issigonis (Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis) was born in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey). In November 1971, Issigonis officially retired from BLMC, with a major ceremony at Longbridge, for which BL marshalled an example of every car for which he had led the design, of which only the Minor was no longer in production. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS terkenal kerana menjadi pencipta kereta Mini yang menjadi ikon tahun 1960-an. When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. The cars design with its front wheel drive and independent suspension provided good road handling, but Issigonis had scant regard for passenger comfort. To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. The loss of British sovereignty led not only to a political defeat but also to an oil crisis. A reliable car with excellent steering and cornering qualities, it was the first all-British car to pass the one million mark in sales; surviving models are still cherished by owners and collectors. There he witnessed the awe inspiring (and Nazi funded) Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix cars, as well as the Alfa Romeo P3 of Nuvolari, which won the race, much to the Nazis discomfort. His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Shortly after in 1962, when gender roles were thought to be defined, one woman chose a life of speed. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS (November 18, 1906-October 2, 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. Alec Issigonis was born in Turkey. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world? Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 - 2 October 1988) was a Greek automotive designer. 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 . After briefly working elsewhere in the early 1950s, Issigonis returned to what had become the British Motor Corp., where in 1959, in response to the Suez energy crisis (1956) and the popularity of Germanys Volkswagen Beetle, he introduced the Mini. Alec is also well known as, British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. [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. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. On his side, Issigonis built a large model railway in the double garage that ran out through the walls and around the garden. 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. When we stopped sending children up chimneys we reemployed them to work or minis. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. Arguably, Issigonis and BL were in danger of being left behind. This strong streak of fierce independence and lack of compromise hid his lateral approach to the design and engineering of cars. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS (November 18, 1906-October 2, 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959.. Alec Issigonis . When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. A flawed genius, yes, and BMCs failure to manage him is clear. meantime, John preferred his psychedelic Rolls .. Roger, hats off for this excellent treatment of an engineering legend. By 1941, Issigonis had started work on an advanced post war car, then codenamed Mosquito, which became the Morris Minor. A more powerful engine, bigger brakes and a few tuning tweaks later, the Classic Mini Cooper 997 was introduced. Issigonis had a reputation, deserved by all accounts, for arrogance and irascibility, an inability to suffer fools at all, and restricted his contact to as a small as a group as he could. John Sheppard spent 20 years working with [], Richard Aucock 40 years ago this month, Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of Britains best-selling motoring icons, retired The creator of the original Mini, the Morris Minor, the Austin Maxi and [], Motor magazine, August 1962 WHY IS THE ADO16? He designed the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and voted the second most influential car of the 20th century in 1999. Issigonis returned to BMC to design a range of family vehicles. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Did they aim to build in greater volume, to compete with emerging brands such as Jaguar, or did they retreat further upmarket or even entirely into other activities? Maybe because theyd lost the Issigonis chassis manners? Issigonis designed a unitary construction saloon and the V8 engine, and utilised Moultons latest interconnected rubber suspension. [13], He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1967. Sir Alec Issigonis started his career at Humber, known for their Humber Snipe and Humber Hawk models, even Queen Elizabeth II owned a Humber. This car was remarkably light, weighing less than 600lb. His father Constantine Issigonis was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from Paros. The rest is racing . Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. At some point in the mid-60s they ran an After the New Wears Off feature by an MG 1100 owner in Los Angeles. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. It was still in production when BMW, led by Bernd Pischetsreider, bought Rover in 1994. body design expertise was by Italian firm Pininfarina. [4] Nice to see that blue Morris Oxford just the same as our first car that I remember. O interesse pelo automvel veio aos 12 anos, quando ele viu um pela primeira vez. 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. Indeed gay sex was illegal in the UK until 1968 and for many years after prejudice was rife. Learn how your comment data is processed. Daniels (right) and Sheppard (left), no doubt, had to smooth a few ruffled feathers on the way. His little cars were a success despite him. 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. As such he was of the generation who experienced the privations of two apocalyptic world wars. It was at Alvis that Issigonis first worked with another of the influential characters of his career. The Landcrab and Maxi were so butt ugly that no self respecting petrolhead would be seen it one. By the mid 1970s, Issigonis was beginning suffer from Menieres disease, and the consequent loss of full control of his balance let him to retreat from prominence. Alec Issigoniss birth sign is Scorpio and he had a ruling planet of Pluto. the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune were not yet discovered, since the telescope had not yet been invented. 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. George Harriman, Leonard Lord and Alec Issogonis. Sir Alec Issigonis. . The Austin/Morris Mini was Ultimately, Alvis had to cancel the project, after the first prototype had been built but before the company had committed to the expenditure of production tooling. Designer Alec Issigonis was born in the southern Anatolian city of Smyrna in 1906. Tragically, Constantine Issigonis contracted a serious illness, and died in Malta in June 1923. . 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. He would instead research work on his Mini replacement the 9X with its compact transverse engine. A truly fascinating man he was. Biography: Sir ALEC issigonis - The designer of Britain's favourite cars, Britain's favourite car designer . 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. The Renault 14 was transversely engined, from 1976. I caught up to my mate and I said thats a really cool car, what is it? Thats my BrothersMini Cooper. William Morris (Lord Nuffield) didnt like it, naming it the poached egg and expressed no appreciation of it to Issigonis, until 1951 when 100,000 cars had been built. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. 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. But it was an exciting period, and youve captured his personality and lasting impact well. He lived and worked in England " A camel is a horse designed by a committee " " Pure Math is the enemy of every truly creative man" Sir Alec's grandfather Demosthenes was sort of a mechanical genius having . The irony being, of all the cars built in the world that follow his layout, none carry an Austin or Morris badge. The Mini was designed by. The last sighting was of a 71 America, in 81, and looking very well cared for. His grandfather Demosthenis Issigonis . Born in Turkey, Issigonis come to England as a teenager. The family is almost penniless. The childhood . I think you can see a narrower car in one of the pre-production photos, above. The Mini remains one of the most important motoring icons of the 1960s, so it's only natural that the band would want a piece of the action as Beatles mania took hold. The gearbox in sump was a dead end in terms of automotive design. Sir Alec Constantine Issigonis, born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire on November 18, 1906, is famous for designing the beloved Mini Cooper motor car. Sir Alec Issigonis, in full Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, (born Nov. 18, 1906, Smyrna [now zmir], Tur.died Oct. 2, 1988, Birmingham, Eng. His name? Chrysler also took a licence to manufacture the device, which was an integral part of their pioneering overdrive in 1934. 41 Copy quote. Issigonis was a remarkable engineer and obviously made his mark. He was impossible to work with, had Henry Fords arrogance and nearly bankrupted the company like Ford, by refusing to listen to anyone. Issigoniss mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born in the Turkish town of Smyrna, today's Izmir, as the son of a Briton of Greek origin and a mother from Bavaria, on 18 November 1906. Yes, it ran like hell when operable as the owner treated it like an Army Jeep. Address 8050 Alec Issigonis Way, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford, OX4 2HW. Humber were more interested in the sales engineer than his product, and Issigonis moved to Humber in 1933. Issigonis was to use Moultons suspension ideas on all his future cars, with Moulton working in a consultancy capacity to BMC. It was designed to follow on from the Mini and 1100 as the next generation . In many ways, this car was a clear, but simpler, derivative of the work Issigonis had been doing at Alvis, and Issigonis recruited some former colleagues from Alvis to BMC to develop V6 and V4 engines for the projected BMC cars, possibly using the aborted work at Alvis as a basis. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis ( 18. listopadu 1906 Smyrna - 2. jna 1988 Birmingham) byl ecko - britsk automobilov konstruktr narozen na zem dnenho Turecka. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. In 1942, the first scale model was produced and the following year work began on a hand-formed steel prototype. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. This car was remarkably light, weighing 587lb, of which the engine contributed 252lb. During this time he started to build a special sprint racer with a friend. He managed to obtain his Diploma, but was not admitted to advanced studies. Sticks in my mind I read a road test that put engine speed at 60 around 4,000rpm. 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. . The Mini, and the other Issigonis BMC front wheel drive cars, benefited from Issigonis continuing collaboration with Alex Moulton and his suspension system developments. Issigonis' first cousin once removed was Bernd Pischetsreider, responsible . I saw this tiny car among the Buicks Oldsmobiles Mercurys and Chevrolet Impalas that were the usual fare. 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. But the story begins even further back, with a man named Demosthenis, Alec's grandfather, who emigrated from Greece to Asia-Minor in the 1830s and worked for the Smyrna-Aydn Railway. Born Alexandros Arnoldos Konstantinos Issigonis on the 18th of November, 1906, Alexander Issigonis' family were part of the Greek community in the port city of Smrna. https://www.mini.com/ Maybe it takes that sort of single-mindedness, bordering on obsession, to create something different, get it into production in spite of obstacles and naysayers, and make it a success. The third front wheel drive car from BMC was the 1964 ADO17 Austin 1800 (or Landcrab), a car which Issigonis has been quoted as identifying as the design he was most proud of, and then the Austin Maxi in 1969 with less successful results. He was involved in engine design as well, requesting unsuccessfully that BL build 4 and 6 cylinder engines for Mini variants. . Not something one would anticipate until it is experienced. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. Alec completed his education at an English boarding school, and in 1925, took a two month tour, by car, of Europe with his mother before returning to take a place at Battersea Polytechnic in south London, to study mechanical engineering. Alec Issigonis, or more formally Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis CBE FRS RDI* (1906 1988), is best known as the creator of the Mini, but he also designed two other cars that have featured on CC and that are amongst the best-selling cars in British motoring history the Morris Minor and the Austin-Morris 1100 (ADO16). It interested me as I had the honour of working with sir Alec for around 3 months. Your email address will not be published. This isnt 1942. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. [], 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. Nearly $1900 was pretty stiff pricing for a car that size in the mid 60s, $150 more than a Bug. (first posted 10/24/2016) Alec Issigonis, along with Sir Henry Royce and perhaps Colin Chapman, has the greatest name recognition in the UK for any British car designer or engineer. Alec Issigonis 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. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. If so, that would seem vindictive on Days part. Issigonis with XC/9001, the car that became the Landcrab. Most events he entered were sprints and hillclimbs, but he also competed in some circuit races. The gearbox sharing the sump oil worked ok, but the transmission absolutely pulverised the lubricating qualities out of the oil, and it really required changing every 3000 miles if you wanted the thing to last. It was also a specialist low volume producer of expensive, exclusive sports saloons cars not now associated with Issigonis and was at the same crossroads that so many smaller, upscale producers had been. And I myself have engineered a few things with the help of Jack Daniels . It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. Issigonis and Dowson then travelled into Austria to the mountain climb competition at the then new Grossglockner Hochalpen Pass. As you know I was away when the little ceremony took place to mark your retirement and I have, of [], Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the Mini, among other cars, is to remain design consultant with British Leyland after he goes into semi-retirement at the end of the month. In 1961, he became Technical and oversaw the launch of the 1100, 1800 and Maxi all hugely advanced machines, with front-wheel drive, in-sump gearboxes, and interconnected suspension. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. 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 convinced Issigonis to ready the Mini for the Rallye Monte Carlo. What a great. Smrna was then the second city of the Ottoman Empire and had a local population of around one million, of which more than half were Greek. . The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. 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.