What a great. Your email address will not be published. He was born on November 18, 1906 and his birthplace is Turkey. At Alvis, Issigoniss main task was to lead the development of a more affordable, higher volume luxury car. All Rights Reserved. Moultons hydrolastic suspension as installed on the BMC ADO16 by Issigonis. Striving to ensure that as much space as possible was allocated to the passengers, Issigonis used Moultons compact rubber suspension and had Dunlop build 10 inch wheels and tyres just for the Mini purely for reasons of space efficiency. 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. Sir Alec Issigonis started his career at Humber, known for their Humber Snipe and Humber Hawk models, even Queen Elizabeth II owned a Humber. Shortly after in 1962, when gender roles were thought to be defined, one woman chose a life of speed. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Not sure how true it is, but I read somewhere that he even designed the ashtrays for the Minor. 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. The car was launched at the 1948 London Motor Show, alongside the Land Rover and Jaguar XK120, and the rest is pure CC history. People over the road from us had a Wolseley Six (top of the range Landcrab) when we were kids. Constantine was very proud of his British citizenship and Alec grew up in a traditional British type of household. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. There was no radio fitted as he thought it would distract the driver. 41 Copy quote. Manual transmissions seemed to hold up ok,lasting at least as long as the engine. Indeed gay sex was illegal in the UK until 1968 and for many years after prejudice was rife. BL were in thrall of the myth theyd created, but the buying public had much more sense. I thought I knew everything about Issigonis already, but there were some fascinating insights here. Please check back soon for updates. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: , )CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. The end of the agreement came in 1986, when Issigonis wrote directly to Graham Day, BLs then new Chairman. Alec Issigonis's mother was German, and it was on her side of the family that he was a first cousin once removed to automobile engineer and executive manager Bernd Pischetsrieder. 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. [], BMC changed the world with the launch of the Mini in 1959. body design expertise was by Italian firm Pininfarina. 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. Issigonis was probably privately satisfied with that arrangement, as it took him away from the daily grind of corporate management and designing production ready cars and back into the more conceptual field where he had the opportunity to use his innovative skills the kind of role Leonard Lord had originally given him twelve years earlier and which led to the Mini and the ADO16. And a rally demon was born. 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. Great summary of a giant of industrial design. I remember seeing early Civics with trunks and the early VW Dasher had a trunk, in spite of its fastback bodywork. 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. Learn more. Nice to see that blue Morris Oxford just the same as our first car that I remember. In 1952, the year BMC was formed, he moved to Alvis where he designed an advanced saloon, and experimented with interconnected independent suspension systems. It was more like a Lancia or a rear drive Citroen than a Rover or a Sunbeam-Talbot. His grandfather Demosthenis Issigonis . And the 1800 the rear seat really seemed limousine-like for the size of the car. Issigonis actually sketched the Minis original design with a pencil on a tablecloth. Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. Issigonis did observe and try to improve on what he saw, but always challenged himself to be original and better. Issigonis had also been involved in the larger Oxford, Isis and Wolseley ranges. On the right is Alec Issigonis and standing next to him is John Cooper. Get In Touch Call or Email. [], 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. Issigonis then went back to the British Motor Corporation, where the influence of many political factors led him to his major breakthrough. 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. A truly great man and an honour for me. * Commander of the British Empire (1964), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1967), Royal Designer for Industry (1964). Alec Issigonis and Dr Alex Moulton, the creator of Hydrolastic and Hydragas suspension, with a Morris 1100, circa 1962. Issigonis never married; most accounts suggest that he was probably gay but he was obviously unable to express himself without huge risk to his professional status and even the risk of prosecution. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. 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. I do not know how many I have owned Morrises, Austins and MGs. Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . 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. It did get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. For many years he was known informally as Arragonis, and was either sufficiently confident in himself or sufficiently lacking in understanding to use that name himself on occasions. It was at Alvis that Issigonis first worked with another of the influential characters of his career. Issigonis officially retired from the motor industry in 1971, although he continued working until shortly before his death in 1988 at his house in Edgbaston, Birmingham. When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Production only finished after BMW had bailed out of Rover in 2000. It was a very ambitious intention, which Alvis were not capable of delivering on without importing a lot of engineering talent. Sir Alec Issigonis is best remembered for the Austin Mini - a car that revolutionised the small car package and probably saved the British Motor Corporation at the same time. They kept it several years until they decided they needed their 1st air-conditioned car a 66 LeMans. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. Issigonis continued to work as Engineering Director at the Austin-Morris Division of BMC, and as Technical Director of BMC in 1965. The Austin/Morris Mini was 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 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. [13], He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1967. RM G4TJWM - Alec Issigonis, creator of the British Motor Corporation 'Mini' car range, drives the 1,000,000th Mini off the production line at the Austin Plant at Longbridge, Birmingham. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular 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. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. The floor is flat and low to the ground and windows all round make it seem very airy. But there were other 20th century cataclysms that he lived and worked through as a designer - including the Suez crisis of 1956. But fearful that his freedom would be curbed in such a large company, Issigonis resigned from BMC and went to work for the much smaller Alvis company. is bigger, and is just one of a family of related models. Issigonis was knighted in 1968, 1955 Morris Minor: Britains Favorite Car Bar None, And Rightly So, Austin Seven (Mini): The Future Started Here. It was still in production when BMW, led by Bernd Pischetsreider, bought Rover in 1994. Alvis had a strong military business building armoured cars and personnel carriers, and this part of the business is still going strong as part of BAE Systems. Unfortunately I didnt turn out quite as brilliant, but I like to think I missed out some of the stubbornness/arrogance as well. He managed to obtain his Diploma, but was not admitted to advanced studies. 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. He was appointed to this post by Lords successor, Sir George Harriman, who was even more in awe of him than Lord was, but also was even more unable to control and guide Issigonis. They represent many years of design study in attempts to produce the best value for money in the field of small car design. The closure of the Suez canal created . Durante o curso ele foi reprovado trs vezes em matemtica. Youre right about maintenance. His father was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from the Greek island, Paros. [3] Whilst he is most famous for his creation of the Mini, he was most proud of his participation in the design of the Morris Minor. For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. 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. Alecs education details are not available at this time. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis . British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. He died in October 1988, aged 82. Prior to his death, Alec and his mother travelled overland to London. Was it to be water or air cooled? He was also responsible for the development of the Mini Moke, initially intended for military use, though it subsequently became another popular icon of British automotive engineering that, like the Mini, attained cult status. Sixty years ago today . In 1956, the focus was shifted towards a new economy car and from here, the Mini was born in 1959. During the Second World War, Britain was in control of the Suez Canal, which served as an important source of oil, but this changed during the so called Suez crisis in 1956. The boxy, inexpensive, fuel-efficient Mini used a transverse engine to power its front wheelsa radical design at the timeand thus could comfortably seat four passengers despite being only 10 feet (3 m) long. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis ( 18. listopadu 1906 Smyrna - 2. jna 1988 Birmingham) byl ecko - britsk automobilov konstruktr narozen na zem dnenho Turecka. The Royal Navy Marines evacuated British Subjects, including the Issigonis family, from Smyrna before Turkey attacked. Therefore some functionality is missing. George Harriman, Leonard Lord and Alec Issogonis. It confronted the conservative image of BMC head on, even if the rest of BMC range didnt. An advanced 4-speed fully automatic transmission was offered in these that lived in the sump and shared the engine oil, just like the manual gearbox. Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS, RDI (18 November 1906 - 2 October 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential . I appreciate the research the depth and the smooth writing style to present it all in a gripping way. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. I have liked them ever since. 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. 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. . It didnt just raise the bar it kicked it into next week ! Here in Australia they didnt seem particularly small, but they were certainly a lot more roomy than the competition. His fingerprints are all over other cars, too, the Austin 1800 Land Crab and the Austin Maxi for example, but not always as successfully, as we shall see. Great article there should be a movie about Issigonis! I caught up to my mate and I said thats a really cool car, what is it? Thats my BrothersMini Cooper. Alec Issigonis nasceu na Turquia Filho de um grego naturalizado britnico casado com uma turca. 130 King Street West, Exchange Tower, Suite 1800, Toronto, Canada, M5X 1E3. 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. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. 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 . IAN NICHOLLS recalls the day the two millionth rolled off the production line [], A team of the worlds leading motoring writers, along with voters on the internet, have short-listed the legendary Mini for the ultimate motoring accolade the international Car of the [], THE GUARDIAN Lord Stokes writes about the late Sir Alec Issigonis: Alec Issigonis was a very charming and persuasive person, and a brilliant innovative engineer with a considerable capacity for [], Rover Group consultant Sir Alec Issigonis writes to chairman Graham Day. The greatest overall compatibility with Scorpio is Taurus and Cancer. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. 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. The Landcrab and Maxi were so butt ugly that no self respecting petrolhead would be seen it one. He was a race car driver during the 30's and 40's. I remember being quite put off by the sound of the engine seemingly racing to maintain 45mph. Cylcops center guage; magic wand shift-lever; and bus-sized steering wheel. Below are all possible answers to this clue ordered by its rank. 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. Issigonis returned to BMC to design a range of family vehicles. He also took his lunch with the workers in the local pub and travelled to this in our Bedford crew bus with wooden bench seats. 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. Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Horse. 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. Alec's grandfather Demosthenis migrated to Smyrna from the Greek island of Paros in the 1830s. By 1964, BMC had built over one million front wheel drive vehicles, including over 800,000 Minis and over 200,000 ADO16s, and over a third were exported. The loss of British sovereignty led not only to a political defeat but also to an oil crisis. Matchbox featured an MG 1100 in its 1-75 line-up for many years. This is the main reason Lord re-hired Issigonis. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. A British citizen born in Turkey in 1906, Issigonis did not see an automobile until he was 12 years old. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. He would instead research work on his Mini replacement the 9X with its compact transverse engine. In 1942, Morris gave Issigonis overall responsibility for an all-new model; the Morris Minor. I got to drive his Red mini when I went for fish and chips on a Friday. Autokonstrukteur, GBPortrt mit Zigarette- 1959. 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. In 1922 the family left Turkey for England, as all British people were banished from the country. All Rights Reserved. Issigonis was a good packaging designer. It was through his mother's kinships that Issigonis was a first cousin once removed to BMW and Volkswagen director Bernd Pischetsrieder.[5]. I dont have any great memories of the Mini to share, though you saw them everywhere. 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. 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. Comments about the bus-like steering wheel angle remind me of what I learned about that subject from my Italian cars (Fiats): the relatively horizontal wheel requires/enables the driver to push forward, rather than up, to make a turn a difference that makes better use of the arm, translating to easier and less tiring driving. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. I have labelled it the Most Significant Car of the 1940s; it is probably the most recognised British car, apart from the Mini, and the most fondly remembered car by many British families and motorists. . 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. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS terkenal kerana menjadi pencipta kereta Mini yang menjadi ikon tahun 1960-an. When he officially retired from BLMC in November 1971, Issigonis was retained by BLMC on an exclusive consultancy agreement, signed off by and reporting to the Chairman, Donald Stokes. To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. 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. Alec Issigonis: straight from a family thrilled by technology. I saw that same car several times, so, at least in nice weather, it apparently was a daily driver. The suspension was trailing arms at the front, attached to a steel cross-member, and a swing axle rear, all with rubber springs made of catapult elastic. Alec Issigonis. XC/9002 became ADO16 and was launched as the Morris 1100 with the Hydrolastic interconnected suspension system in August 1962. *27/02/01 The new Mini which will go on sale in the UK summer 2001, was , being unveiled for the first time. You serve us all wonderfully. Issigonis made a grandfather clock from it, which kept good time. A deeply flawed genius at best. Your article sure did him justice; thank you, Roger. 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) People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. The typical American indifference to regular maintenance did not play well with this setup. Updates? Been a fan of Alec Issigonis since I was 8 years old. Issigonis (just in view at the far right) was not involved in the engineering of this car, but was able to start a long term friendship with Battista and Sergio Pininfarina,seenstanding next the car with Leonard Lord and George Harriman. Issigoniss first project was to design an independent suspension for Rootes highest volume car, the Hillman Minx. The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? A truly fascinating man he was. Required fields are marked *. Issigonis also devised a compact suspension system made of rubber cones instead of springs to keep the wheel wells from intruding into the passenger compartment. 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? Decades later, despite enormous further developments, the vehicle has lost none of its initial charm. Sir Alec Issigonis. Sir Alec Issigonis. Oxford Office. 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. Issigonis 'response was dry and forceful:'I'm an engineer. He and Frank Stephenson are both famous car designers. 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. 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. 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. He excelled in mechanical drawing, but failed his mathematics exams three times. The Automotive Hall of Fame. Alec Issigonis was born in 1900s. (The Maxi, by comparison, was a bland lump.). 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 . Look what happened to Alan Turing. 8050 Alec Issigonis Way, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX4 2HW. 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 . This isnt 1942. A flawed genius, yes, and BMCs failure to manage him is clear. However, there was more to his life than just one car. At the time of his retirement, 71, hatchbacks were not the thing they were 4 years later.

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