Been a fan of Alec Issigonis since I was 8 years old. 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. Sticks in my mind I read a road test that put engine speed at 60 around 4,000rpm. It had one option an AM radio, hung below the dash. That Alvis is one of those missed opportunities that ultimately doomed the company. Issigonis then went back to the British Motor Corporation, where the influence of many political factors led him to his major breakthrough. Issigonis was dismissive of market research, The public dont know what they want; its my job to tell them and even mathematics, derided as the enemy of every truly creative man. The floor is flat and low to the ground and windows all round make it seem very airy. My doodles and sketches are not the work of an academic engineer. I was mesmerized and I saw my schoolmate being dropped off by his older brother who was on his way to high school. Again,Issigonis was able to get close to some of the most impressive cars of the era, and take ideas and influences home. Alec Issigonis was born in Smyrna (now Izmir) in Turkey on 18 November 1906 to a British-naturalized father of Greek origin and a Bavarian-born mother. Moulton also designed folding, rubber suspended small-wheeled bicycles. This car was remarkably light, weighing 587lb, of which the engine contributed 252lb. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. If only it had had more power and better gearing. People over the road from us had a Wolseley Six (top of the range Landcrab) when we were kids. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. Sort By: Better Essays. I hardly ever drove a Mini or an 1100, but many miles of driving a Landcrab made me understand why it was so very good, in spite of some engineering shortcuts. 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. 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. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. And the result was the creation of more than just an economical car. 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. 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 challenge of designing the Mini was engineering a car that would seat four passengers and their luggage in a package not to exceed ten feet in length. 1925 . He remained on the BL books as a consultant until 1988, shortly before his death. I do not know how many I have owned Morrises, Austins and MGs. In 1969, in recognition of his engineering genius, Queen Elizabeth granted him Knighthood. There were, as CC has seen, many and varied reasons for the failure of the Landcrab and Maxi: the control (or rather the lack of it) exercised by Lord and Harriman over Issigonis; the inherited components; and marketing and production issues. Apparently Walter Chrysler could also be difficult to work with. If only it had had more power and better gearing. Alec Issigonis: The Man Who Made the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, 81; Designer of Minicar And Morris Minor. However, as we all know, it was no profit-maker for BMC and, during its hyper-successful first decade on the market, its maker cruelly and criminally failed to develop the concept into something that the customers truly wanted a hatchback. Even more significantly, it effectively defined the configuration of the small and medium car for the next 50 years. 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. I caught up to my mate and I said thats a really cool car, what is it? Thats my BrothersMini Cooper. His father, however, did not survive the crossing. Later, he was working on an independent suspension for the larger Humber Hawk, with another rising star in the industry, Bill Heynes. We will continue to update information on Alec Issigoniss parents. 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. Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . Alec is also well known as, British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. Sir Alec Issigonis. 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. JUMP TO: Alec Issigoniss biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. I wouldnt say Day was offended but took it as evidence that Issigoniss time has passed and that the value Rover were getting from the consultancy was minimal, and it was effectively indulging Issigonis, something Turnbull and Donald Stokes could afford t0 do (and knew looked rational) in 1970. 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? I remember being quite put off by the sound of the engine seemingly racing to maintain 45mph. It confronted the conservative image of BMC head on, even if the rest of BMC range didnt. Perhaps it was a trait that ran in the family. Oak placed another engineer, Jack Daniels, alongside him to keep his feet on the ground. 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. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. Chrysler also took a licence to manufacture the device, which was an integral part of their pioneering overdrive in 1934. Encouraged by the success of the Morris Minor, Issigonis continued his design work at Morris (including work on a replacement for the Minor with a transverse 4 cylinderengine with an endon gearbox) until the merger with the Austin in 1952 to form BMC. Arguably, Issigonis and BL were in danger of being left behind. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. is bigger, and is just one of a family of related models. For his accomplishments, Queen Elizabeth knighted Issigonis in 1969. People of this zodiac sign like truth, being right, longtime friends, teasing, and dislike dishonesty, revealing secrets, passive people. Thanks for a wonderfully researched article! The Boudjah - Smyrna born Alec Issigonis was an engineering genius and even after his death there is a fan base for his cars. 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. [], 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. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. The childhood . Rover used the freewheel extensively, on cars and Land Rovers, into the 1960s. . The Mini went on to become the best selling British car in history with a production run of 5.3million cars. He was a complex man, with a complex background, family story and career. 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. Alec Issigonis Related Authors Vivienne Westwood Quotes Virgil Abloh Quotes Coco Chanel Quotes Carroll Shelby Quotes By 1941, Issigonis had started work on an advanced post war car, then codenamed Mosquito, which became the Morris Minor. The relationship got to the point where Issigonis had the ideas, did the sketches and Daniels did the formal drawings. [3] His paternal grandfather, Demosthenis, had migrated to Smyrna from the Greek island of Paros in the 1830s and Constantine was a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer. To achieve this feat, Issigonis utilized a front wheel drive layout with a transverse-mounted engine, the first modern application of this concept. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. Alec Issigoniss mothers name is unknown at this time and his fathers name is under review. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alec-Issigonis. 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. His mother was from Bavaria. At some point in the mid-60s they ran an After the New Wears Off feature by an MG 1100 owner in Los Angeles. John Daly, Your email address will not be published. And Alec Issigonis? I wanted to know the genesis. 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? 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. It was through his mother's kinships that Issigonis was a first cousin once removed to BMW and Volkswagen director Bernd Pischetsrieder.[5]. While much derided for its lack of style, I do love the huge smile he put on the front of the original 1800 Landcrab. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. Issigonis did observe and try to improve on what he saw, but always challenged himself to be original and better. If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us. Beyond the Maxi, launched on 1969, Issigonis had left little visible influence on the new cars coming from British Leyland, and indeed, the company made definite moves that would have been unthinkable to him, such as the bold, deliberately contemporary styling of the Austin-Morris 18-22 (Princess range) or the Allegro, or the conservative engineering of the Morris Marina. 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. 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 knighted in 1968, 1955 Morris Minor: Britains Favorite Car Bar None, And Rightly So, Austin Seven (Mini): The Future Started Here. (The Maxi, by comparison, was a bland lump.). 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. Sixty years ago today . Was it to be front or rear engined? At the time of his retirement, 71, hatchbacks were not the thing they were 4 years later. 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. He attended London's Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. Designer Alec Issigonis was born in the southern Anatolian city of Smyrna in 1906. 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. Joseph Lowrey, MOTOR: As soon [], Mr Alec Issigoniss New B.M.C. Austin Maxi: Big On The Inside But Not On The Outside, What a great write up Roger. This was to be an advanced saloon with all aluminium V-8 engine, and the original plan was for Alvis to produce 5,000 cars a year, or ten times Alviss current production rate, to compete with Riley (not then a badge engineered BMC product), Rover, Sunbeam-Talbot and Jaguar. This isnt 1942. But it was an exciting period, and youve captured his personality and lasting impact well. [], 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. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. It was, though, used on the postwar MG Y Type saloons. Issigonis actually sketched the Minis original design with a pencil on a tablecloth. The Mini quickly became cult and had enthusiastic fans worldwide. Indeed gay sex was illegal in the UK until 1968 and for many years after prejudice was rife. 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.



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