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. My doodles and sketches are not the work of an academic engineer. Kereta rekaannya, BMC Mini dilancarkan dalam tahun 1959. All Rights Reserved. Upon meeting Alec, she is shy and ashamed . The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. Alecs father, Constantine Issigonis, who was born in Smyrna in 1872, studied in England, and subsequently returned to Smyrna, keeping the engineering business going through the First World War and maintaining his British citizenship. The first front wheel drive car from BL after Issigoniss retirement was the Austin Allegro, still with the gearbox in the sump and without the obvious hatchback. 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. On a cheerier note, Id love to see that Alvin on the flesh. He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. 130 King Street West, Exchange Tower, Suite 1800, Toronto, Canada, M5X 1E3. This page is updated often with fresh details about Alec Issigonis. John Daly, Your email address will not be published. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. Ruling Planet: Alec Issigonis had a ruling planet of Pluto and has a ruling planet of Pluto. Having been a passenger in an early Austin Landcrab on several occasions I can confirm they are amazingly spacious inside, front and rear. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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. Therefore, when Alec's father, Constantine Issigonis, was born in Smyrna in 1872, he was also a British national. He was impossible to work with, had Henry Fords arrogance and nearly bankrupted the company like Ford, by refusing to listen to anyone. Maybe because theyd lost the Issigonis chassis manners? 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. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world? Nice to see that blue Morris Oxford just the same as our first car that I remember. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS terkenal kerana menjadi pencipta kereta Mini yang menjadi ikon tahun 1960-an. Fascinating piece and what a character! Kereta ini menjadi kereta popular di Britain dan banyak negara di dunia, di samping berjaya menjuarai Rali Monte Carlo sebanyak 3 kali. Absolutely brilliant article about an engineering genius. In 1961, a shipload of Minis suffered mild water damage on their journey to the east coast of US. Our tool for managing your permission to our use of cookies is temporarily offline. You probably know the part about Alec Issigonis being born in the Greek city of Smyrna in 1906, being evacuated to Malta in 1922 following the Turkish invasion, and how he moved to London in 1923 to study engineering. It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. 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. 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. Looking at the Minor or the Mini, I can believe that. This greatly modified machine was replaced with a radical special completed in 1939, constructed of plywood laminated in aluminium sheeting. At the time of his retirement, 71, hatchbacks were not the thing they were 4 years later. His mother was from Bavaria. 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. 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. Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. As such he was of the generation who experienced the privations of two apocalyptic world wars. Sir Alec Issigonis. In March 1957 Lord asked (more likely told, as Lord did not do asking) Issigonis to come up with something to compete with them. 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. In response to the Suez Oil Crisis, British Motor Company asked Issigonis to head the development of a small, fuel-efficient car that would become the Morris Mini. Cooper took the prototype out for a spin and realised this fuel-saving people's car cornered like no other. 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. Heynes later became Technical Director at Jaguar and was a personal friend of Issigonis for many years. There he developed the Morris Minor, which remained in production from 1948 to 1971. [], By Clifford Webb British Leyland are selling the Mini at a loss despite the latest price increase and the fact that after 14 years it is still their top export [], Lord Stokes writes to Sir Alec Issigonis on this day. 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. 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. Born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now zmir, Turkey) on November 18, 1906, Issigonis immigrated to England with his family in 1922 and later studied engineering at . Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . RM G4TJWM - Alec Issigonis, creator of the British Motor Corporation 'Mini' car range, drives the 1,000,000th Mini off the production line at the Austin Plant at Longbridge, Birmingham. The 1100 benefited from someone elses external design. His grandfather Demosthenis Issigonis . He was born in 1906 in a city that is now known as Izmir, in Turkey which itself can trace its . A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF THE MINI FOUNDER. His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Alec Issigonis: The Man Who Made the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, 81; Designer of Minicar And Morris Minor. His inability to accept guidance (stubbornness may be a better term) also led to some misjudged products the Maxi comes to mind but perhaps the purity of hispredominantly engineering solution with poor execution in the areas Issigonis didnt or wouldnt appreciate (looks, practicality, ergonomics, product revisions, marketing) was also overlooked by too many within BMC. [], 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. IAN NICHOLLS recalls the day the two millionth rolled off the production line [], A team of the worlds leading motoring writers, along with voters on the internet, have short-listed the legendary Mini for the ultimate motoring accolade the international Car of the [], THE GUARDIAN Lord Stokes writes about the late Sir Alec Issigonis: Alec Issigonis was a very charming and persuasive person, and a brilliant innovative engineer with a considerable capacity for [], Rover Group consultant Sir Alec Issigonis writes to chairman Graham Day. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. * Commander of the British Empire (1964), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1967), Royal Designer for Industry (1964). . . Back the early 2,000 B.C. His father, however, did not survive the crossing. Updates? In 1969, in recognition of his engineering genius, Queen Elizabeth granted him Knighthood. 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. He also had plans for a flat four cylinder engine, and at frequentlychallenged convention and Morris Motors conservatism. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. His father Constantine Issigonis was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from Paros. It was through his mother's kinships that Issigonis was a first cousin once removed to BMW and Volkswagen director Bernd Pischetsrieder.[5]. 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. Alec Issigonis was born in Turkey. Bookmark this page and come back often for updates. . That Alvis is one of those missed opportunities that ultimately doomed the company. Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. 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. To get to this point wasnt easy. Perhaps it was a trait that ran in the family. I think you can see a narrower car in one of the pre-production photos, above. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The first car I could identify was apparently a Mini and my mother still tells the story of an early trip to England where I wouldnt be quiet Ein Mini! Issigonis customer in this case was Maurice Wilks, later the man behind the Land Rover. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. Alec Issigoniss mothers name is unknown at this time and his fathers name is under review. . It did get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. There was a long drive way that ran along the school cafeteria that parents used to drop off students in the morning. Proslavil se zejmna nvrhem vozu Mini, kter uvedla na trh British Motor Corporation v . 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. Issigonis legacy. [13], He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1967. His mother was Bavarian, the daughter of a brewer. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. Birth Name: Alec Issigonis Occupation: Entrepreneur Place Of Birth: Turkey Date Of Birth: November 18, 1906 Date Of Death: October 2, 1988 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: Unknown Nationality: Greek Alec Issigonis was born on the 18th of November, 1906. 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. How about an uncomfortable driver is a distracted driver? 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. The floor is flat and low to the ground and windows all round make it seem very airy. Etsy Search for items or shops Close search Skip to Content Sign in 0 Cart Cyber Sales Event Jewelry & Accessories Clothing & Shoes Daniels (right) and Sheppard (left), no doubt, had to smooth a few ruffled feathers on the way. 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 . For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. Demosthenis acquired British nationality through the work he did for the British-built Smyrna-Aydin Railway. The last sighting was of a 71 America, in 81, and looking very well cared for. Sir Alec Issigonis. Towards the end of WW2, he began work on the Mosquito project, which ended up being launched in 1948 as the Morris Minor. 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. Alternate titles: Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis. Are you sure Renault had transverse-engine hatchbacks by 1974? It was still in production when BMW, led by Bernd Pischetsreider, bought Rover in 1994. " Sir Alec Issigonis. [10], There is a road named "Alec Issigonis Way" in the Oxford Business Park on the former site of the Morris Motors factory in Cowley, Oxfordshire. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Thanks for the great article. To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. Astrologers and astronomers could only work with planets visible to the eye. Fascinating lost papers from the man who created the Mini and the. A series engine, with gearbox beneath and side mounted radiator. [3] Whilst he is most famous for his creation of the Mini, he was most proud of his participation in the design of the Morris Minor. Issigonis studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. But there were other 20th century cataclysms that he lived and worked through as a designer - including the Suez crisis of 1956. Issigonis had the dream of becoming an automobile engineer at an early age. The Royal Navy Marines evacuated British Subjects, including the Issigonis family, from Smyrna before Turkey attacked. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world. Sir Alec Issigonis. 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. Enter the length or pattern for better results. This prototype was never manufactured because its cost was beyond Alvis's resources. Here in Australia they didnt seem particularly small, but they were certainly a lot more roomy than the competition. 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. 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. 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 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.