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. 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. 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. Alec Issigoniss mothers name is unknown at this time and his fathers name is under review. It was, though, used on the postwar MG Y Type saloons. They kept it several years until they decided they needed their 1st air-conditioned car a 66 LeMans. Kereta ini menjadi kereta popular di Britain dan banyak negara di dunia, di samping berjaya menjuarai Rali Monte Carlo sebanyak 3 kali. The change was not handled well though, with credible accounts of a literally tearful Issigonis wandering around Longbridge trying to find a new office after returning from abroad to find Webster occupying his office. But fearful that his freedom would be curbed in such a large company, Issigonis resigned from BMC and went to work for the much smaller Alvis company. [5]:277. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Most events he entered were sprints and hillclimbs, but he also competed in some circuit races. as an American familiar only with U.S. cars. This isnt 1942. Alec Issigonis An expert is someone who tells you why you can't do something. In 1942, the first scale model was produced and the following year work began on a hand-formed steel prototype. There is a truck factory in the city of Izmir, on the western Mediterranean coast of Turkey, builtby the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1967, and which still builds vehiclesunder the BMC brand. Arguably, Issigonis and BL were in danger of being left behind. 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. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. He continued to be responsible for his original XC projects. Issigoniss first project was to design an independent suspension for Rootes highest volume car, the Hillman Minx. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Astrologers and astronomers could only work with planets visible to the eye. [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. Alec Issigonis Related Authors Vivienne Westwood Quotes Virgil Abloh Quotes Coco Chanel Quotes Carroll Shelby Quotes At the end of 1955, Issigonis moved to BMC to head up the development of the corporations new family of cars. Just re-watched the documentary about Issigonis, which has a great deal on the lightweight special It was 1999 channel 4 a full evenings programmes devoted to the 40th anniversary of the Mini. 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. If only it had had more power and better gearing. The Boudjah - Smyrna born Alec Issigonis was an engineering genius and even after his death there is a fan base for his cars. The Mini was designed by. Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. 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. He was a complex man, with a complex background, family story and career. Issigonis was probably privately satisfied with that arrangement, as it took him away from the daily grind of corporate management and designing production ready cars and back into the more conceptual field where he had the opportunity to use his innovative skills the kind of role Leonard Lord had originally given him twelve years earlier and which led to the Mini and the ADO16. And his father, a Greek by origin and British by nationality, had inherited a marine engine construction company, an activity that fascinated little Alec. It had one option an AM radio, hung below the dash. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. Sir Alec Issigonis hadn't even seen a car until he was 12 years old. 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 Royal Navy Marines evacuated British Subjects, including the Issigonis family, from Smyrna before Turkey attacked. He was a race car driver during the 30s and 40s. Sir Alec Issigonis, in full Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, (born Nov. 18, 1906, Smyrna [now zmir], Tur.died Oct. 2, 1988, Birmingham, Eng. This car basically took the Mini concept and enlarged it by 20%, adding some experience, and ambition, at the same time. 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 was born on November 18, 1906 and his birthplace is Turkey. There was a long drive way that ran along the school cafeteria that parents used to drop off students in the morning. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. He died in October 1988, aged 82. Giving the Mini, ADO16 and ADO17 were all designed well before hatchbacks were popular, the beancounters no doubt would be up in arms at the thought of spending more money on tooling for an already old design. He also worked with Alvis Cars, one of the more obscure carmakers. But his true interest was in the 9X and its power unit, and getting a version of it accepted by BL. 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. In 1957, Issigonis received the project that would make him famous. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world. The suspension was also of advanced design, with trailing arm front suspension attached to a steel cross-member, and swing axle rear, all with rubber springs made of catapult elastic. Alec Issigonis. Did they aim to build in greater volume, to compete with emerging brands such as Jaguar, or did they retreat further upmarket or even entirely into other activities? BMC had already developed, and asked outside consultants to develop, several concepts on various themes, none of which met the targets Lord had set, who was also determined to establish an internal capability to think, as we would now say, outside the box. SOL 258H is the oldest surviving gearless car and was the preferred transport of Sir Alex Issigonis. 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. 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. [13], He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1967. It was one of the first days of the new school year early September and I was walking up the sidewalk and turning the corner to head for the campus. Independence is one of their greatest strengths, but sometimes they're overly frank with others. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. From 1925-1928 he studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. Meanwhile from 1930, he raced a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven, and fitted it with an independent front suspension of his own design. 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. . 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. 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. 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? Manual transmissions seemed to hold up ok,lasting at least as long as the engine. The end of the agreement came in 1986, when Issigonis wrote directly to Graham Day, BLs then new Chairman. Engine access on the Mini was very awkward, and this was only improved on the ADO16 because Jack Daniels was able to keep Issigonis away from the detail work, which was largely done at Cowley in Oxford rather than Longbridge. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. His retirement gift from the company was the largest available Meccano set, complete with a steam engine. He became the engineering director of the British Motor Corporation in 1964, and was . 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. Once more details are available, we will update this section. BL were in thrall of the myth theyd created, but the buying public had much more sense. Fascinating lost papers from the man who created the Mini and the. When he turned his attention to the ADO16, Issigonis continued his obsession with the maximisation of passenger space combined with the best possible road holding. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. Despite its stated mission being to provide basic transport, this level of driving enjoyment, and capability, was like a non stop Christmas present. It is arguably doubtful that Lord, knowing Issigonis better, would have seen him as the ideal candidate for the overall technical leadership of BMC. 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. 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. 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. On the surface it didnt appear very desirable to Me, or to prospective new-car buyers. I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. A more powerful engine, bigger brakes and a few tuning tweaks later, the Classic Mini Cooper 997 was introduced. He then moved on to Alvis, where he worked on the development of a luxury saloon, but the project had to be discontinued for cost reasons. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. His father was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from the Greek island, Paros. 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 . 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. Alexandros Arnold Constantine Issigonis, more commonly known as Alec Issigionis, was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, on November 18, 1906. [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. I remember seeing early Civics with trunks and the early VW Dasher had a trunk, in spite of its fastback bodywork. 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. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Indeed gay sex was illegal in the UK until 1968 and for many years after prejudice was rife. Lord Alfred Robens , Chairman of the National Coal Board, wearing cap and gown as he is installed as the new Chancellor of the University of . Issigonis legacy. 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. Alec's grandfather Demosthenis migrated to Smyrna from the Greek island of Paros in the 1830s. Nearly $1900 was pretty stiff pricing for a car that size in the mid 60s, $150 more than a Bug. ALEC ISSIGONIS Automotive Designer (1906-1988) One of the most original car designers of the modern era, ALEC ISSIGONIS (1906-1988) is best known as the creator of the Mini, but also designed two more of the five best-selling cars in British motoring history - the Morris Minor and the Austin 1100. . 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. The Mini quickly became cult and had enthusiastic fans worldwide. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world? So Sir Alec Issigonis had an impact on my life. 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. He was retired from British Leyland in 1971, memorably being given a Meccano kit for his leaving present. This greatly modified machine was replaced with a radical special completed in 1939, constructed of plywood laminated in aluminium sheeting. 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. Diz lenda que ele considerava a rigidez . Style wise, the car has been identified as having a visual similarity to Lancia Aureliathe 1950-58 Lancia Aurelia saloon, with some Morris Oxford overtones and a traditional Alvis style grille added. Iconic. Noch ein Mini! Back in 1980 a friends father of mine who was a MP sergeant owned a then new Mini Cooper 1275 cc. The war prevented this design from going into production but it was later used on the MG Y-type. Issigonis was a good packaging designer. 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. Autokonstrukteur, GBPortrt mit Zigarette- 1959. 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. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alec-Issigonis. Absolutely brilliant article about an engineering genius. Most events entered were sprints, but he also raced at circuits. Therefore, when Alec's father, Constantine Issigonis, was born in Smyrna in 1872, he was also a British national. Family Life His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Associated With He and Frank Stephenson are both famous car designers. 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. I dont have any great memories of the Mini to share, though you saw them everywhere. Demosthenis acquired British nationality through the work he did for the British-built Smyrna-Aydin Railway. This car was remarkably light, weighing 587lb, of which the engine contributed 252lb. Alec Issigonis was a hugely . There was no radio fitted as he thought it would distract the driver. The suspension was trailing arms at the front, attached to a steel cross-member, and a swing axle rear, all with rubber springs made of catapult elastic. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. Ultimately, Alvis had to cancel the project, after the first prototype had been built but before the company had committed to the expenditure of production tooling. Omissions? The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? My doodles and sketches are not the work of an academic engineer. Alec Issigonis: straight from a family thrilled by technology. On his side, Issigonis built a large model railway in the double garage that ran out through the walls and around the garden. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. I do not know how many I have owned Morrises, Austins and MGs. Learn more. Copyright 2023. In October, 1957, just eight months after first putting pen to paper, the first prototypes were on the road. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. Sir Alec Issigonis. 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. 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) He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. All Rights Reserved. Sixty years ago today . For his accomplishments, Queen Elizabeth knighted Issigonis in 1969. [9] He was cremated at the Lodge Hill Cemetery in nearby Selly Oak. 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. Issigonis actually sketched the Minis original design with a pencil on a tablecloth. 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? The war years were spent. Austin Healey Sprites , 3000s Austin Americas, MG Midget, MGAs MGBs Mg 1100s I had many of each model. Issigoniss legacy is undoubtedly best seen through his cars, from the Minor to the Maxi, which challenged conventions through engineering ingenuity. What a great. His family had to flee Smyrne to es- cape the genocide of 1922 by the Turks. Decades later, despite enormous further developments, the vehicle has lost none of its initial charm. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. However, there was more to his life than just one car. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Unique. Road & Tracks test of the Austin America included the line, Superb four-speed fully automatic transmission makes more difference than youd believe possible. But they also noted that with just a few thousand miles on their test car, there was some issue (I forget what) with the trunk lock, and the outside of the engine was covered with oily black grime. I wonder if he was to blame for the Mini never having a hatchback, or a more softly suspended version? THE CREATOR OF AN ICONIC CAR: ALEC ISSIGONIS. [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. His name? Look what happened to Alan Turing. 1925 . Alecs education details are not available at this time. An image from the 1964 Racing Car Show in the aftermath of the Mini's first Monte Carlo Rally win. It certainly appeared by the Maxi development era that Issigonis wanted to "do his own thing" as cost cutting and development costs spiraled. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. The car was launched at the 1948 London Motor Show, alongside the Land Rover and Jaguar XK120, and the rest is pure CC history. BMC was producing over 11,000 Issigonis-designed front-wheel-drive models a week, with demand still exceeding production, which was continually increased. 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. I was mesmerized and I saw my schoolmate being dropped off by his older brother who was on his way to high school. He often had to be discreetly talked through financial documents when he was in the board meetings.
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