The last sighting was of a 71 America, in 81, and looking very well cared for. His love/hate relationship with the companys products stayed with []. People : Sir Alec Issigonis - AROnline 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. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. This is the main reason Lord re-hired Issigonis. He was a complex man, with a complex background, family story and career. No wonder Issigonis felt flattered I feel very, very proud that so many people have copied me.. He managed to obtain his Diploma, but was not admitted to advanced studies. Its practicality and affordability made it immediately popular; by the time of Issigonis death more than five million had been sold. At the opening of the factory BMC was represented by Sir Alec Issigonis. In 1969, in recognition of his engineering genius, Queen Elizabeth granted him Knighthood. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. - Wikipedia Again,Issigonis was able to get close to some of the most impressive cars of the era, and take ideas and influences home. He would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. Fascinating lost papers from the man who created the Mini and the. By early 1957, prototypes were running, and by mid-1957 the project was given an official drawing office project number (ADO15) so that the thousands of drawings required for production could be produced. Sir Alec Issigonis, in full Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, (born Nov. 18, 1906, Smyrna [now zmir], Tur.died Oct. 2, 1988, Birmingham, Eng. He was born on November 18, 1906 and his birthplace is Turkey. 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. He would instead research work on his Mini replacement the 9X with its compact transverse engine. 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. He attended London's Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. It certainly appeared by the Maxi development era that Issigonis wanted to "do his own thing" as cost cutting and development costs spiraled. 18 November 1906 2 October 1988", Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, " Alec Issigonis | Automotive Hall of Fame", Alec Issigonis Automotive Designer (19061988), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alec_Issigonis&oldid=1135124708, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 19:54. George Harriman, Leonard Lord and Alec Issogonis. 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! Prior to his death, Alec and his mother travelled overland to London. At the peak if his career he was by far the most well-known personality in the British motor industry, one of the most well-known names in the European motor industry, and was the first and perhaps the only car British designer who could claim celebrity status. But this also reflects Issigoniss personal characteristics he was a strong minded, stubborn and arrogant man who did did not always have a lot of respect for others opinions and suggestions. . The Lightweight Special - TNF's Archive - The Autosport Forums Humber was the upscale brand of the Rootes Group, but also the name of the main car building company in the Group. It was at Alvis that Issigonis first worked with another of the influential characters of his career. Issigonis did observe and try to improve on what he saw, but always challenged himself to be original and better. My sister had an MG 1100 which blew me away in 1970. Sir Alec Constantine Issigonis: The Greek Designer Of The Famous Mini I am well acquainted with the brilliant/stubborn/arrogant type of engineer, I have occasionally served as a Daniels, and my own brilliant/stubborn/arrogant Grandfather could have probably used one too. But back in the day, young UK petrolheads had the time of our lives with Minis, modified in countless ways, rocketing around on twisty English roads, and in weekend motorsports. In October, 1957, just eight months after first putting pen to paper, the first prototypes were on the road. 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. Happy birthday to the Mini! Vic Oak and Reginald Hanks, Morriss Managing Director did though, arranging a 50% salary increase for Issigonis in April 1948, to 1500 per year. He and Frank Stephenson are both famous car designers. He also had plans for a flat four cylinder engine, and at frequentlychallenged convention and Morris Motors conservatism. Autokonstrukteur, GBPortrt mit Zigarette- 1959. And I myself have engineered a few things with the help of Jack Daniels . 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. Your article sure did him justice; thank you, Roger. Essay on The Pure Voice in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. 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. John Daly, Your email address will not be published. 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. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the Greek city of Smyrna (now zmir) in the Ottoman Empire. Matchbox featured an MG 1100 in its 1-75 line-up for many years. Issigonis customer in this case was Maurice Wilks, later the man behind the Land Rover. [citation needed] Issigonis often commented to friends and colleagues that the Austin 1800 (ADO17) was the design he was most proud of, even though it never was as commercially successful as his three preceding designs. [9] He was cremated at the Lodge Hill Cemetery in nearby Selly Oak. He title at Alvis was Engineer in charge of passenger car design. Biography: Sir ALEC issigonis - The designer of Britain's favourite cars, Britain's favourite car designer . One tidbit I recall: when the Morris Minor design was almost finished the book showed the designer holding a brass model of the car it was decided to add a few inches of width at the centerline. 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. Im sure the Renault 4, 5, 6, and 16 had longitudinal engines. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. 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. 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. Heynes later became Technical Director at Jaguar and was a personal friend of Issigonis for many years. His name? Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and commemorations 4 Some of his cars Issigonis was a remarkable engineer and obviously made his mark. Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . Indeed gay sex was illegal in the UK until 1968 and for many years after prejudice was rife. 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. 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. 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. Alec Issigonis It is much easier to drive without having an accident. This prototype never saw the light of day mores the pity. (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. But it was an exciting period, and youve captured his personality and lasting impact well. Issigonis who designed the Mini auto Crossword Clue 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. Ford clinging to the T too long was the same sort of corporate inertia that had VW clinging to the Bug too long. The Morris Minor was an immediate success, selling over 11 million units, and was the first characterization of Issigoniss philosophy of maximizing interior space while shrinking all other components. Issigonis planned two versions, known as the TA/350 with a 3.5 litre V8 and TA/175 with a 1750cc, V4 engine. 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. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. [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. And a rally demon was born. He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. 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. Chrysler also took a licence to manufacture the device, which was an integral part of their pioneering overdrive in 1934. TOP 8 QUOTES BY ALEC ISSIGONIS | A-Z Quotes Noch ein Mini! Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis ( 18. listopadu 1906 Smyrna - 2. jna 1988 Birmingham) byl ecko - britsk automobilov konstruktr narozen na zem dnenho Turecka. Back the early 2,000 B.C. Probably 30 of these made over the past dozen years, not quite Mini production numbers.. Another excellent piece Roger, and thank you for bringing it to us. Issgoniss retirement, with George Turnbull, then Managing Director of Austin-Morris. At the end of the Greek-Turkish war in 1922, British subjects in Smyrna were evacuated by the Royal Navy, ahead of the Turkish re-possession of the area from Greece, with manyinitially travelling to Malta. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. Sir Alec Issigonis. Chinese Zodiac: Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Hulda Issigonis then returned to Malta, leaving sixteen year old Alec alone in London, returning only after Constantine had died. In 1934 Issigonis was invited to join the drawing office at Humber Ltd in Coventry. By October 1959, the Mini was on sale and when the press first got their hands on BMCs new car, they were not shy to praise it; the Minis unique personality, exceptional space efficiency, lively performance and tenacious front-wheel-drive handling meant that it was a sure fire hit with the critics. August 26, 2019. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. Daniels effectively resumed his position as Issigoniss right hand man for the next ten years or more, guiding the interpretation of Issigoniss requests to the workshops, draughtsmen, production engineers and accountants. . Issigonis' creation was remarkable, but it really only became a Mini when he got a little help from his friend, motorsport pioneer John Cooper. And Alec Issigonis? Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. This car was remarkably light, weighing 587lb, of which the engine contributed 252lb. Alec Issigonis Net Worth, Age, Bio, Birthday, Height, Facts FamousBirthdays.com - use subject to the practices disclosed in our privacy policy. Issigonis, Alec - Hellenism.Net By 1945, a full scale static prototype close to the familiar production form was completed. Issigonis had no input to the Marina (other than it using substantial elements from the Morris Minor of course) or the Allegro, as BMC had passed a thin very development programme to Leyland in 1968, largely due to financial pressures. This page is updated often with fresh details about Alec Issigonis. Daniels (right) and Sheppard (left), no doubt, had to smooth a few ruffled feathers on the way. 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. I think you can see a narrower car in one of the pre-production photos, above. 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. German Engineer Who Designed And Built The First Practical Automobile The MG 1100 Sport Sedan a perfect choice when a two-seater MG is too small. Joseph Lowrey, [], The Mini hit its big landmark in 1969, a seismic year in the history of BMC>Rover. Issigonis worked as a draughtsman and design engineer, and also in a sales and project engineer role, succeeding in securing Rover as a customer use the freewheel device on the new for 1933 Rover Ten (P1 series, above). 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. 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. Austin 1800 (ADO18 Landcrab): Best In Class Or Just Plain Ugly? Lord (later Lord Lambury, above) had big ambitions for BMC and initially tasked Issigonis with developing the basis for a range of modern family cars to replace the existing collection of BMC products. Moultons hydrolastic suspension as installed on the BMC ADO16 by Issigonis. If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us. Alternate titles: Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis. 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! The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? His family had to flee Smyrne to es- cape the genocide of 1922 by the Turks. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. Diz lenda que ele considerava a rigidez . Alec Issigonis Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography . An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. 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. Sir Alec Issigonis - Small Cars, Big Ideas - Cars Less Traveled His grandfather Demosthenis Issigonis . 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. 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. I saw one, in 79 or 80, sold here as the MG Sports Sedan. Youre right about maintenance. He was a race car driver during the 30s and 40s. 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! When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. Unfinished Sympathy - Driven To Write He still worked to his consultancy agreement but did so almost exclusively from home, briefing and debriefing nominated BL engineers each morning. [5]:277. Yes, it ran like hell when operable as the owner treated it like an Army Jeep. Ruling Planet: Alec Issigonis had a ruling planet of Pluto and has a ruling planet of Pluto. . An image from the 1964 Racing Car Show in the aftermath of the Mini's first Monte Carlo Rally win. If it was front engined, was it to be rear wheel or front wheel drive? [4] 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. is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". Alec Issigoniss birth sign is Scorpio and he had a ruling planet of Pluto. The initials "G.I." 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. ADO15, 16 & 17 (36792752942).jpg 1 712 1 936; 589 KB Thanks for this terrific bio on one of the all-time greats in the field. Constantine studied in England. It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. Issigonis returned to BMC to design a range of family vehicles. " Sir Alec Issigonis. He was known for being a Entrepreneur. 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. BMC had internally identified the need to move on from the concepts behind the Minor and A30, leaving behind the classic front engine, semi-elliptic spring concept but there was little clarity on which direction was perceived to be the way to go. JUMP TO: Alec Issigoniss biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. Alec Issigonis was already known for his popular and respected Morris Minor. By October 1957, Issigonis had shown Lord a working prototype and the decision had been made to manufacture the car, using the existing BMC A series engine. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. That's exactly what he did. Bedtime story - Alec Issigonis - Enthusiasts of British Motor Vehicles He pressed the case, again, for the gearless 9X, complained about electronics in cars, designers using CAD systems and not slide rules, and changes in the model designations of the existing Mini. Stokes was heard on his appointment to say: "We'll sharp sort this bloke Issigonis out!". . Issigonis studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. [4] His maternal ancestors originated in the Kingdom of Wrttemberg. As a person whos worked as a CAD drafter for 24 years, I wonder what his objection to CAD was. [16], In 2003 he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in the United States. Alec Issigonis was a hugely . It was a very ambitious intention, which Alvis were not capable of delivering on without importing a lot of engineering talent. Constantine was very proud of his British citizenship and Alec grew up in a traditional British type of household. 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. He died in October 1988, aged 82. More importantly, the end of the agreement also marked the end of goodwill payments from the Company that covered his nursing care, and he was forced to move from his home to a smaller flat. 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 . 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. 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) Dr.Ing. In 1942, Morris gave Issigonis overall responsibility for an all-new model; the Morris Minor. 10 Things Everyone Forgot About Mini And Its Cars Oxford Office. 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. BMC and Issigonis were awarded the Dewar Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) for the innovative design and production of the Mini. At the end of 1955, Issigonis moved to BMC to head up the development of the corporations new family of cars. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Alec Issigonis. To achieve this feat, Issigonis utilized a front wheel drive layout with a transverse-mounted engine, the first modern application of this concept. I was amazed at the amount of space in that car you could even hide things in the cubbyhole under the rear seat. It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. Shunning all offers of silver service with the management. in there was a 1 hr "The Mini Man " -Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 by great friend and car fanatic Peter Ustinov. Get In Touch Call or Email. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Towards the end of WW2, he began work on the Mosquito project, which ended up being launched in 1948 as the Morris Minor. Oxford Study Courses A testament to brilliant design or to the modern industrys tendencies towards aversion of risk, I wont say surely some of both. He attended Londons Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. [14], He was granted the rank of Knight Bachelor in the 1969 Birthday Honours[15] and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 22 July of the same year.
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