It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. A British citizen born in Turkey in 1906, Issigonis did not see an automobile until he was 12 years old. . 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. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. November 18, 1906 Car designer Alec Issigonis, the man who gave the world the Mini, was born in Turkey on this day to a Greek father and Bavarian mother. Alec Issigonis nasceu na Turquia Filho de um grego naturalizado britnico casado com uma turca. By 1969 Fiat had also followed with the 128, and by 1974 Peugeot, VW and Renault had transverse engine hatchbacks as well. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Unfortunately I didnt turn out quite as brilliant, but I like to think I missed out some of the stubbornness/arrogance as well. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. 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. Sort By: Better Essays. 1925 . (I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) A truly great man and an honour for me. Iconic. Oak placed another engineer, Jack Daniels, alongside him to keep his feet on the ground. When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. Astrologers and astronomers could only work with planets visible to the eye. Issigonis and his team produced a revolutionary car that featured a small exterior with a spacious passenger compartment and outstanding handling characteristics. For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. Alec Issigonis was born in 1900s. He was involved in engine design as well, requesting unsuccessfully that BL build 4 and 6 cylinder engines for Mini variants. 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. Alec Issigonis An expert is someone who tells you why you can't do something. . Diz lenda que ele considerava a rigidez . 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. The Austin/Morris Mini was 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. His retirement gift from the company was the largest available Meccano set, complete with a steam engine. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. In later years, the car would become known simply as 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. This prototype was never manufactured because its cost was beyond Alvis's resources. [], The most comprehensive story youll ever read about the aborted 9X programme the ill-fated Mini replacement, engineered by the man who created the original. info@oxbotica.com +44 (0)1865 433 998. 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 . Learn how your comment data is processed. Therefore, when Alec's father, Constantine Issigonis, was born in Smyrna in 1872, he was also a British national. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. There was a good reason for BMC selecting him for this task, for Issigonis was born in Izmir. Alec is also well known as, British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. 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. In October, 1957, just eight months after first putting pen to paper, the first prototypes were on the road. 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. It interested me as I had the honour of working with sir Alec for around 3 months. Alec Issigonis Related Authors Vivienne Westwood Quotes Virgil Abloh Quotes Coco Chanel Quotes Carroll Shelby Quotes If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us. To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. The big steering wheels angle was a bit bus-like though. 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. He was popular for being a Entrepreneur. 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. 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 . A truly fascinating man he was. The inability of these cars to withstand business case scrutiny crucial in the companys decline, and others must also stand up for that -Issigonis didnt claim to be a product planner in the sense Ford would recognise but saw all his cars as separate entities. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. He convinced Issigonis to ready the Mini for the Rallye Monte Carlo. As British subjects - his father having naturalised whilst studying engineering in London in 1897 - Issigonis and his parents were evacuated to Malta by the Royal Navy in September 1922 ahead of the Great Fire of Smyrna and the Turkish capture of Smyrna at the end of the Greco-Turkish War. 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. 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. 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. Friendly was ideal for owner-buyers, a large part of the British car buying public, but never appealed to thrusting young execs and salesmen, which is why BLMC was so desperate for the Marina to crack the fleet market. The Landcrab and Maxi were so butt ugly that no self respecting petrolhead would be seen it one. 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. Alviss options for body shell production were being reduced, at the same as the estimated costs of the body manufacture doubled. Issigonis planned two versions, known as the TA/350 with a 3.5 litre V8 and TA/175 with a 1750cc, V4 engine. The 1100 and later 1300 outsold the Mini by a considerable margin and remained Britains best-selling car right through the 1960s. Alecs education details are not available at this time. Get In Touch Call or Email. 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. 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. 41 Copy quote. Essay on The Pure Voice in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. People over the road from us had a Wolseley Six (top of the range Landcrab) when we were kids. Bookmark this page and come back often for updates. [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. Sketch by the late Sir Alec Issigonis, of the original Morris Minor, circa 1946. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. He was born in 1906 in a city that is now known as Izmir, in Turkey which itself can trace its . 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. 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 original plan called for a large family car by 1960, to be followed by a smaller car and then a city car. Manual transmissions seemed to hold up ok,lasting at least as long as the engine. Towards the end of WW2, he began work on the Mosquito project, which ended up being launched in 1948 as the Morris Minor. He also had plans for a flat four cylinder engine, and at frequentlychallenged convention and Morris Motors conservatism. Austin 1800 (ADO18 Landcrab): Best In Class Or Just Plain Ugly? He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. Issigonis then went back to the British Motor Corporation, where the influence of many political factors led him to his major breakthrough. Vic Oak and Reginald Hanks, Morriss Managing Director did though, arranging a 50% salary increase for Issigonis in April 1948, to 1500 per year. Sir Alec Issigonis. 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 . Another thing Sir Alec did not think was important perhaps? And I myself have engineered a few things with the help of Jack Daniels . 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. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. in there was a 1 hr "The Mini Man " -Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 by great friend and car fanatic Peter Ustinov. 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. It didnt just raise the bar it kicked it into next week ! Morris Minor 1000s , Dropheads, Travelers , Panel Van, and Pick up trucks. In 1922 the family left Turkey for England, as all British people were banished from the country. The loss of British sovereignty led not only to a political defeat but also to an oil crisis. is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". Are you sure Renault had transverse-engine hatchbacks by 1974? 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. . A family that . He was reluctant to consider features such as large boots or hatchbacks, or engine access, as important. Production only finished after BMW had bailed out of Rover in 2000. Richard Bremneris well-known for being a highly-respected motoring scribe, but in his formative years, he worked in the employ of Austin-Rover. The cars design with its front wheel drive and independent suspension provided good road handling, but Issigonis had scant regard for passenger comfort. The Mini was designed by. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. The innovation he created by switching the orientation of the engine, changing the traditional transmission to a transaxle and sending power to the front wheels was a magnificent idea! Fascinating lost papers from the man who created the Mini and the. Sir Alec Issigonis. It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. https://www.mini.com/ Stokes was heard on his appointment to say: "We'll sharp sort this bloke Issigonis out!". File nella categoria "Alec Issigonis" Questa categoria contiene 5 file, indicati di seguito, su un totale di 5. Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. Great article there should be a movie about Issigonis! 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. Omissions? Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Alec Issigonis was a hugely . Issigonis 'response was dry and forceful:'I'm an engineer. But accounts do suggest it done in a pretty crass way. And Alec Issigonis? . I dont remember Dad as being what youd call a sporting driver, but he never considered the later Austin-based Oxfords. Kereta ini menjadi kereta popular di Britain dan banyak negara di dunia, di samping berjaya menjuarai Rali Monte Carlo sebanyak 3 kali. Intriguingly, it seems that the car was possibly designed to be suitable for a front wheel drive layout, with a flat floor and compact Moulton rubber cone suspension, leaving a large and spacious engine bay. Apparently Walter Chrysler could also be difficult to work with.