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. 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. Vic Oak and Reginald Hanks, Morriss Managing Director did though, arranging a 50% salary increase for Issigonis in April 1948, to 1500 per year. Many did not even make it through the warranty period without the transmission self-destructing. 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. 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. Thank you very much for a wonderful biography. Copyright 2023. For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. The first car to repeat the concept of the Mini was the ADO16, which is often considered to be Issigoniss finest hour. Beatles' Minis: Cars belonging to McCartney, Harrison and Ringo are on 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. 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. Issigonis went into the motor industry as an engineer and designer working for Humber and competed successfully in motor racing during the 1930s and 1940s. It was a very ambitious intention, which Alvis were not capable of delivering on without importing a lot of engineering talent. 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. I caught up to my mate and I said thats a really cool car, what is it? Thats my BrothersMini Cooper. He also had plans for a flat four cylinder engine, and at frequentlychallenged convention and Morris Motors conservatism. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. I had a book about Issigonis, but its lost. MINI Revolutionary with the Drawing Pad - myAutoWorld.com 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. Found an ad for the US market 1100. In conjunction with Issigonis work, Lord contracted Pininfarina to lead the styling of BMCs new cars, starting with the conventionally engineered Austin A40 Farina in 1958. Sir Alec Issigonis | Autopedia | Fandom His retirement gift from the company was the largest available Meccano set, complete with a steam engine. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Alec Issigonis, the man who dreamed of the Mini - Archyde Alec Issigonis | Bartleby Sir Alec Issigonis. 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. In 1928 his first job was in the design office of Gillett, an engineering firm in London. All Rights Reserved. Alec is also well known as, British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. The childhood . Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. Noch ein Mini! To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. His father Constantine Issigonis was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from Paros. 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. BMC and Issigonis were awarded the Dewar Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) for the innovative design and production of the Mini. He persisted in this into the 1980s, competing in vain against the Austin Metro, an improved version of the BMC A series engine and seemingly oblivious to the Companys financial state. Day terminated the consultancy agreement, without any more consultation. His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Lord was looking for modernity, but he was also looking for commonality of engines, good quality design and cars good enough to be amongst the best in their class and internationally competitive. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. Here in Australia they didnt seem particularly small, but they were certainly a lot more roomy than the competition. The lower picture is is an early (1958) Issigonis drawing of his vision for the Mini. Oxford Office. In 1969, in recognition of his engineering genius, Queen Elizabeth granted him Knighthood. In a front-wheel-drive car, with more understeer and/or a bit more resistance at the wheel, this effect might be enhanced ? Sir Alec Issigonis celebrates one of the many milestones of the Mini dynasty. I witnessed blowing head gaskets, torn manifold studs and much more and found out that taking the engine out first was the quickest access for any of these repairs! 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: straight from a family thrilled by technology. 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. But beneath this surface, he was a sensitive and more vulnerable person, and was almost certainly (and inexcusably) the subject of some intolerance and prejudice from the UK born staff. His love/hate relationship with the companys products stayed with []. Look what happened to Alan Turing. [17], Learn how and when to remove this template message, 1938 Issigonis Lightweight Special at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, "The creator of an iconic car: Alec Issigonis", "The Genuine MOKE | Steer clear of imitations | Story", "Pre de l'Austin "Mini" Alec Issigonis est mort", "Review of 'The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900 (2nd edition)', "Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis. Issigonis quickly arranged for Jack Daniels to move up from Cowley to Longbridge to rebuild their close rapport. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, Biography: Sir Alec Issigonis The Designer of Britains Favourite Cars, Britains Favourite Car Designer, I have labelled it the Most Significant Car of the 1940s, Vintage R&T Technical Analysis: AMCs New Pacer As Short As A Pinto; As Wide As A Chevelle, Vintage Car Life Comparison: 1961 VW Bus, Corvair Greenbrier, and Ford Econoline Wherein A 40 HP VW Bus Ties An 80 HP Greenbrier In The 1/4 Mile, Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: NSU Ro80 Just Your Typical Bay Area Car Show, The CC Graveyard: Part Three An Exotic Foreigner Hiding In The Bushes, Wordless Outtake: Ford, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Renault, MAN The Subcontractors Sixsome, BOAL: 1982 Honda GL500 Silverwing Chapter 5, The Baby Wing. Nkter data mohou pochzet z datov poloky. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. Meanwhile, back at the office, Issigonis had devised an independent coil spring system for the first unitary construction Morris, the 1938 Ten, but which did not go into production as Morris, conservative as ever, chose a more conventional and cheaper beam axle solution. As his father studied in London, being an engineer, the family were British subjects and were thus evacuated to Malta by the Royal Navy in September 1922, ahead of the Great Fire of Smyrna at the end of the . 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. He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. Cylcops center guage; magic wand shift-lever; and bus-sized steering wheel. 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. This car was remarkably light, weighing less than 600lb. I wonder if he was to blame for the Mini never having a hatchback, or a more softly suspended version? MG 1100/1300 Register - NAMGBR 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. 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. Decades later, despite enormous further developments, the vehicle has lost none of its initial charm. Aos 16 mudou-se para Inglaterra onde iria cursar engenharia. Address 8050 Alec Issigonis Way, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford, OX4 2HW. The end of the agreement came in 1986, when Issigonis wrote directly to Graham Day, BLs then new Chairman. Generation. This page is updated often with fresh details about Alec Issigonis. Sketch by the late Sir Alec Issigonis, of the original Morris Minor, circa 1946. It did get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. Alec Issigonis. 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). The Automotive Hall of Fame. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. Durante o curso ele foi reprovado trs vezes em matemtica. Issigonis legacy. 104 Alec Issigonis Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 104 Alec Issigonis Premium High Res Photos Browse 104 alec issigonis stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 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. On October 2, 1988, he passed . The mini leaked like a sieve because of the way hed designed the sills and had to be redesigned. 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. Constantine married a German lady whose name was Hulda Prokopp and in 1906 they had a baby who they named Alexander Arnold Issigonis, or Alec to his family. 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. The relationship got to the point where Issigonis had the ideas, did the sketches and Daniels did the formal drawings. Towards the end of WW2, he began work on the Mosquito project, which ended up being launched in 1948 as the Morris Minor. Despite its stated mission being to provide basic transport, this level of driving enjoyment, and capability, was like a non stop Christmas present. Yes, it ran like hell when operable as the owner treated it like an Army Jeep. Not sure how true it is, but I read somewhere that he even designed the ashtrays for the Minor. 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. It was still in production when BMW, led by Bernd Pischetsreider, bought Rover in 1994. So Sir Alec Issigonis had an impact on my life. Issigonis died in England in 1988 at the age of 81, having lived long enough to see his beloved Mini sell in excess of five million units. 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. To achieve this feat, Issigonis utilized a front wheel drive layout with a transverse-mounted engine, the first modern application of this concept. 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 . . This car was remarkably light, weighing 587lb, of which the engine contributed 252lb. A testament to brilliant design or to the modern industrys tendencies towards aversion of risk, I wont say surely some of both. Sticks in my mind I read a road test that put engine speed at 60 around 4,000rpm. Enter your username or email to reset your password. This is the main reason Lord re-hired Issigonis. That is how many of us know about these cars or about many 1960s British cars, in general. If so, that would seem vindictive on Days part. Having failed his mathematics exams three times, subsequently declaring it 'the most uncreative subject you can study',[3] Issigonis decided to enter the University of London External Programme to complete his university education. Issigoniss legacy is undoubtedly best seen through his cars, from the Minor to the Maxi, which challenged conventions through engineering ingenuity. 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. A truly great man and an honour for me. He became the engineering director of the British Motor Corporation in 1964, and was . When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. 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. Chrysler also took a licence to manufacture the device, which was an integral part of their pioneering overdrive in 1934. Get In Touch Call or Email. 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. Alec Issigonis Net Worth, Age, Bio, Birthday, Height, Facts Joseph Lowrey, MOTOR: As soon [], Mr Alec Issigoniss New B.M.C. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: , )CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. 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. The Mini caused a sensation with its design and rather small size in the late 1950s thanks to its inventor, the Englishman Alec Issigonis. It certainly appeared by the Maxi development era that Issigonis wanted to "do his own thing" as cost cutting and development costs spiraled. 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. . All Rights Reserved. The Mini was designed by. 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. Born in Turkey, Issigonis come to England as a teenager. Probably the closest British comparison is the Jaguar Mk 1 which came out in 1955 and was produced at a rate of around 10-15,000 for thirteen years. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. His stubbornness, I would say, had more in common with Ford starting production of the T, when everyone was telling him to make expensive cars because they were more profitable. Nice to see that blue Morris Oxford just the same as our first car that I remember. Alec Issigonis was already known for his popular and respected Morris Minor. He died in October 1988, aged 82. The Mini went on to become the best selling British car in history with a production run of 5.3million cars. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world. The loss of British sovereignty led not only to a political defeat but also to an oil crisis. Alec is . Everyman Classics: Mid-Century Visionary 1 : Alec Issigonis By 1945, a full scale static prototype close to the familiar production form was completed. Who are the richest people in the world? Great summary of a giant of industrial design. [16], In 2003 he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in the United States. Issigonis was born in Smyrna in 1906. He remained on the BL books as a consultant until 1988, shortly before his death. 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. His last Morris projects were the 1953 Morris Oxford and Isis saloons, launched after the BMC merger, and which used the BMC B series engine. Meanwhile from 1930, he raced a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven, and fitted it with an independent front suspension of his own design. Issgoniss retirement, with George Turnbull, then Managing Director of Austin-Morris. Sort By: Better Essays. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. LJK Setright, in his book The Designers describes Issigonis as working as a sculptor works, moving masses into different juxtapositions until his trained eye told him they were right. 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. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. One thing that I learnt the hard way well not the hard way, the easy way when youre designing a new car for production, never, never copy the opposition, declared Issigonis, when asked to summarise his approach to car design. Sir Alec Issigonis - Motoring Weekly Rover used the freewheel extensively, on cars and Land Rovers, into the 1960s. Ruling Planet: Alec Issigonis had a ruling planet of Pluto and has a ruling planet of Pluto. 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. Alec Issigonis - Bio, Personal Life, Family & Cause Of Death - CelebsAges If only it had had more power and better gearing. Constantine studied in England. 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. For his accomplishments, Queen Elizabeth knighted Issigonis in 1969. Sir Alec Issigonis - Driven To Write Issigonis' creation was remarkable, but it really only became a Mini when he got a little help from his friend, motorsport pioneer John Cooper. Alec Issigonis Way Oxford Business Park Oxford OX4 2HN United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 1865 783 000 Oxford Biomedica Solutions 1 Patriots Park Bedford MA 01730 United States Telephone: +1 781 428 4536 Email :solutions.partnering@oxb.com Oxford Biomedica (Ireland) Ltd Office 502 Balheary Demense Balheary Road Swords Co. Dublin Ireland Alec Issigonis Biography | HowOld.co At this time, he was working for Maurice Olley. This would have been in the early 70s when they were literally everywhere. George Harriman, Leonard Lord and Alec Issogonis. The Austin/Morris Mini was Getting a guy like Issigonis to design a V8 saloon and just chucking it in the bin. In 1942, Morris gave Issigonis overall responsibility for an all-new model; the Morris Minor. View gallery - 6 images. 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.