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. 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. 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. While much derided for its lack of style, I do love the huge smile he put on the front of the original 1800 Landcrab. His motor industry career at Humber, and during his time there, he competed in motor racing notably designing his own lightweight version of a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven with his own front axle. Issigonis was a remarkable engineer and obviously made his mark. 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. And a rally demon was born. 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. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. 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. In 1942, the first scale model was produced and the following year work began on a hand-formed steel prototype. BL were in thrall of the myth theyd created, but the buying public had much more sense. Updates? Alec Issigonis - Etsy This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. [], 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. Great article there should be a movie about Issigonis! Alexandros Arnold Constantine Issigonis, more commonly known as Alec Issigionis, was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, on November 18, 1906. Constantine studied in England. Roger, are you saying that Graham Day ended the consultancy and goodwill payments because he was offended by Issigoniss letter? By placing an A series four cylinder engine transversely with the gearbox underneath in the sump and sharing the oil, and moving the wheels to the corners, he saved so much space that it was possible to accommodate a four seat car within a length of 10 feet. Sir Alecs design which we built won the design centre award. The lower picture is is an early (1958) Issigonis drawing of his vision for the Mini. Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. . Alec Issigonis. During 1956 Issigonis concentrated on the larger two cars, producing several prototypes for testing. I hope he knew that he changed the Automobile World for the better. Sir Alec Issigonis | Autopedia | Fandom 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. Issigonis spent his early years as an engineer with Morris Motors working on steering and suspension. 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. Alec Issigonis Related Authors Vivienne Westwood Quotes Virgil Abloh Quotes Coco Chanel Quotes Carroll Shelby Quotes Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. The Mini caused a sensation with its design and rather small size in the late 1950s thanks to its inventor, the Englishman Alec Issigonis. Issigonis and Dowson then travelled into Austria to the mountain climb competition at the then new Grossglockner Hochalpen Pass. Alec Issigonis - Etsy Check out our alec issigonis selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. The irony being, of all the cars built in the world that follow his layout, none carry an Austin or Morris badge. 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. 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. Get In Touch Call or Email. O interesse pelo automvel veio aos 12 anos, quando ele viu um pela primeira vez. BMC made cuts of 6,000 in the labour force almost overnight and without consultation, whilst Lord noted the sales of the imported European bubble cars. When we stopped sending children up chimneys we reemployed them to work or minis. It was still in production when BMW, led by Bernd Pischetsreider, bought Rover in 1994. It was, though, used on the postwar MG Y Type saloons. Another Mini!). Meanwhile from 1930, he raced a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven, and fitted it with an independent front suspension of his own design. Yes, it ran like hell when operable as the owner treated it like an Army Jeep. The floor is flat and low to the ground and windows all round make it seem very airy. Issigonis usually won, even when entered in the 1100cc class if there was no 750cc category. Ive never been inside a Landcrab or a Maxi, but I understand that while they are very spacious, the ergonomics are pretty poor. He excelled in mechanical drawing, but failed his mathematics exams three times. He did not want more conventional answers, without at least exploring some technical advances. The Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum is now home to the Issigonis Prototype 1970 Mini 9X 'Gearless', donated to the Museum by the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Issigonis quickly arranged for Jack Daniels to move up from Cowley to Longbridge to rebuild their close rapport. His iconoclasm ensured that, despite the constraints of working in an industry where the size and complexity of the process meant that even the most forceful of designers was only one member of a large team, Issigonis cars bore his own stamp from the 1948 Morris Minor to the 1969 Maxi. The rest is racing . . Joseph Lowrey, MOTOR: As soon [], Mr Alec Issigoniss New B.M.C. Production only finished after BMW had bailed out of Rover in 2000. Alec Issigonis: The Man Who Made the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, 81; Designer of Minicar And Morris Minor. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. Comprehensive article. 8050 Alec Issigonis Way, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford, United Kingdom, OX4 2HW. Richard Bremneris well-known for being a highly-respected motoring scribe, but in his formative years, he worked in the employ of Austin-Rover. 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. By 1945, a full scale static prototype close to the familiar production form was completed. 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. Like many famous people and celebrities, Alec Issigonis kept his personal life private. 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. [citation needed], Issigonis was nicknamed "the Greek god" by his contemporaries. Issigonis first concepts were rear wheel drive, with a conventional drive train, fully independent suspension set on a long wheelbase with short overhangs and very rudimentary styling. Omissions? Sir Alec Issigonis. Red: Yeah, its mine. What a great. 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! He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. While the intention was for the space efficient FWD cars to replace much of the existing overlapping BMC range (that all should have been hatchbacks in retrospect), it would have been interesting to see a rear-wheel drive Cortina rival with fully-independent suspension derived from Issigoniss work at Alvis to slot between the 1100/1300 and 1800/2200. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. Biography: Sir Alec Issigonis - The Designer of Britain's Favourite If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us. Issigonis designed the most enduring small cars of the twentieth century, the Morris Minor (1948) and the Mini (1959) - a testament to his insistence that 'styled' cars dated quickly. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune were not yet discovered, since the telescope had not yet been invented. Issigonis 'response was dry and forceful:'I'm an engineer. You serve us all wonderfully. The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? The initials "G.I." Brilliant cars! Kereta rekaannya, BMC Mini dilancarkan dalam tahun 1959. Even more significantly, it effectively defined the configuration of the small and medium car for the next 50 years. A colleague of his had a VW Polo then and kept shaking his head: Well, yes, if there were no other compact cars in the world , Mr. Roger Carr, Thank you. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. Alec Issigonis | Bartleby 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.