alec issigonis family alec issigonis family

. [], 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. The boxy, inexpensive, fuel-efficient Mini used a transverse engine to power its front wheelsa radical design at the timeand thus could comfortably seat four passengers despite being only 10 feet (3 m) long. They represent many years of design study in attempts to produce the best value for money in the field of small car design. In 1961, a shipload of Minis suffered mild water damage on their journey to the east coast of US. 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. . 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. Sticks in my mind I read a road test that put engine speed at 60 around 4,000rpm. [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. Oxbotica Toronto Office. In 1942, Morris gave Issigonis overall responsibility for an all-new model; the Morris Minor. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. Not something one would anticipate until it is experienced. 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. He still worked to his consultancy agreement but did so almost exclusively from home, briefing and debriefing nominated BL engineers each morning. A family that . 41 Copy quote. 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. . body design expertise was by Italian firm Pininfarina. FamousBirthdays.com - use subject to the practices disclosed in our privacy policy. THE CREATOR OF AN ICONIC CAR: ALEC ISSIGONIS. Issigonis was a good packaging designer. His mother was from Bavaria. He was flattered to be copied, though. Sir Alec Issigonis. Alec Issigonis is a famous Entrepreneur. The initials "G.I." Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis ( 18. listopadu 1906 Smyrna - 2. jna 1988 Birmingham) byl ecko - britsk automobilov konstruktr narozen na zem dnenho Turecka. At Alvis, Issigoniss main task was to lead the development of a more affordable, higher volume luxury car. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Horse. 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. Issigonis was giving punters what they needed, rather than what they wanted. It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. It was a very ambitious intention, which Alvis were not capable of delivering on without importing a lot of engineering talent. Alec Issigonis was born in Turkey. It confronted the conservative image of BMC head on, even if the rest of BMC range didnt. In 1969, in recognition of his engineering genius, Queen Elizabeth granted him Knighthood. 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. It didnt just raise the bar it kicked it into next week ! The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "an alec issigonis family car launched in 1969 (6,4)", 10 letters crossword clue. He remained on the BL books as a consultant until 1988, shortly before his death. Issigonis was knighted in 1968, 1955 Morris Minor: Britains Favorite Car Bar None, And Rightly So, Austin Seven (Mini): The Future Started Here. 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. . The Mini quickly became cult and had enthusiastic fans worldwide. No wonder Issigonis felt flattered I feel very, very proud that so many people have copied me.. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. Apparently Walter Chrysler could also be difficult to work with. Subsequently my main triumph of design is a carbon block conveyor that fit into an oddly shaped spot while using less pieces of steel than its predecessor. He was a race car driver during the 30's and 40's. If only it had had more power and better gearing. He was a complex man, with a complex background, family story and career. 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. Alec Issigonis - Etsy Check out our alec issigonis selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. MINI. Dr.Ing. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world? . 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. 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. Issigonis returned to BMC to design a range of family vehicles. To achieve this feat, Issigonis utilized a front wheel drive layout with a transverse-mounted engine, the first modern application of this concept. This greatly modified machine was replaced with a radical special completed in 1939, constructed of plywood laminated in aluminium sheeting. The ways in which things went sour for BMC , and for Alec himself, are all too well known: but with this little car, they surely both earned a big place in history. [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. Sort By: Better Essays. Another thing Sir Alec did not think was important perhaps? Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. This isnt 1942. 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. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. My doodles and sketches are not the work of an academic engineer. 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 birth sign is Scorpio and he had a ruling planet of Pluto. Moultons hydrolastic suspension as installed on the BMC ADO16 by Issigonis. It was apparent to Morriss senior managers that Issigonis was cut from a different cloth compared to his contemporaries. 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 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. This was the man who persisted in pursuing a gearless car using only a torque converter, who rubbished CAD in favour of slide rules, who did most of his designs in rough and passed them to his acolytes to make real. They paid him to design a tractor safety cab after their own designers had 3 attempts and we built 3 failures. My appreciation of Issigonis designs really came when Auntie Merle traded her Austin A30 (horrible car) for a Morris 1100. I remember being quite put off by the sound of the engine seemingly racing to maintain 45mph. As you know I was away when the little ceremony took place to mark your retirement and I have, of [], Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the Mini, among other cars, is to remain design consultant with British Leyland after he goes into semi-retirement at the end of the month. During this time he started to build a special sprint racer with a friend. 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. Alec Issigoniss mothers name is unknown at this time and his fathers name is under review. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . The strengths of this sign are being resourceful, brave, passionate, a true friend, while weaknesses can be distrusting, jealous, secretive and violent. The big steering wheels angle was a bit bus-like though. Was it to be front or rear engined? 104 Alec Issigonis Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 104 Alec Issigonis Premium High Res Photos Browse 104 alec issigonis stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 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. He said the engine was turning 4500 rpm at 68 mph and commented, This seems fast enough for an obsolete three-bearing long-stroke engine., Digging up the articles is left as an exercise for the student. Gillett was developing a freewheel device for use on cars, partly as a refinement and fuel economy device, and partly to reduce the need for double declutching gearchanges in the pre-synchromesh era. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. 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. My sister had an MG 1100 which blew me away in 1970. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. As a person whos worked as a CAD drafter for 24 years, I wonder what his objection to CAD was. 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. His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. 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. The MG 1100 Sport Sedan a perfect choice when a two-seater MG is too small. 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, 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). 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. He lived with his mother to whom he was devoted, until her death in 1972, latterly in Edgbaston in Birmingham, in a large bungalow, divided into two wings. Your email address will not be published. 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 . George Harriman, Leonard Lord and Alec Issogonis. His efforts were concentrated on two things continuing to promote the 1968 9X concept to BLMC, and working on the concept of a gearless version of the Mini, using a torque converter, that was not a technical success. I appreciate the research the depth and the smooth writing style to present it all in a gripping way. Sketch by the late Sir Alec Issigonis, of the original Morris Minor, circa 1946. In later years, the car would become known simply as the Mini. 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. Born Alexandros Arnoldos Konstantinos Issigonis on the 18th of November, 1906, Alexander Issigonis' family were part of the Greek community in the port city of Smrna. 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. 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. The concept of the transverse engine and gearbox combined with FWD, which had previously been used only with two-cylinder two-stroke engines by DKW (since the 1920s), Lloyd and Saab, was adapted by Issigonis for the four cylinder A-block engine for the Mini. Daniels (right) and Sheppard (left), no doubt, had to smooth a few ruffled feathers on the way. . When Alvis cancelled the project, Issigonis was invited by BMC Chairman Sir Leonard Lord to return to BMC at Longbridge, as Chief Body and Chassis engineer, and reporting to BMC Technical Director Sydney Smith. An image from the 1964 Racing Car Show in the aftermath of the Mini's first Monte Carlo Rally win. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. View 6 Images. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Issigonis continued to work as Engineering Director at the Austin-Morris Division of BMC, and as Technical Director of BMC in 1965. However, at the end of 1956, following fuel rationing brought about by the Suez Crisis, Issigonis was ordered by Lord to bring the smaller car, XC/9003, to production as quickly as possible. By 1969 Fiat had also followed with the 128, and by 1974 Peugeot, VW and Renault had transverse engine hatchbacks as well. The gearbox in sump was a dead end in terms of automotive design. Another Mini!). Another Mini! A testament to brilliant design or to the modern industrys tendencies towards aversion of risk, I wont say surely some of both. The Mini went on to become the best selling British car in history with a production run of 5.3million cars. Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . The greatest overall compatibility with Scorpio is Taurus and Cancer. (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. 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. A flawed genius, yes, and BMCs failure to manage him is clear. Tragically, Constantine Issigonis contracted a serious illness, and died in Malta in June 1923. Alec Issigonis. Designer Alec Issigonis was born in the southern Anatolian city of Smyrna in 1906. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the Greek community of Smyrnain Ottoman Turkey. 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. Thanks for the great article. Alec Issigonis It is much easier to drive without having an accident. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. This car was remarkably light, weighing 587lb, of which the engine contributed 252lb. The Boudjah - Smyrna born Alec Issigonis was an engineering genius and even after his death there is a fan base for his cars. Sir Alec Issigonis celebrates one of the many milestones of the Mini dynasty. Issigonis had some success at club racing level and in 1935 travelled with his lifelong friend George Dowson to the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Speaking of steering, one of the earlier reviews of the Mini contained the sentence, This is the first car Ive driven that caused me to laugh out loud just going around a corner ! Or words to that effect . Despite its stated mission being to provide basic transport, this level of driving enjoyment, and capability, was like a non stop Christmas present. 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. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. Alec's grandfather Demosthenis migrated to Smyrna from the Greek island of Paros in the 1830s. Issgonis preferred to work by sketching his ideas onto Arclight pads, each numbered in sequence and retained, and then having Daniels, looking after chassis elements, or another close confidant John Sheppard, looking after the body shell itself, work to turn these in physical reality. I thought I knew everything about Issigonis already, but there were some fascinating insights here. 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. Issigonis never had any input into MG sports cars or the large, rear drive saloons BMC were still building the late 1960s, and the Austin 3 Litre, based on Issigoniss Austin 1800 was driven by George Harriman. In 1952, just as the British Motor Corporation (BMC) was formed by the merger of Morris and Austin, he moved to Alvis Cars where he designed an advanced saloon with all-aluminium V-8 engine, and experimented with interconnected independent suspension systems. 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! Issigonis was born in Smyrna in 1906. All Rights Reserved. In August 1971, Issigonis drove the 2 millionth ADO16 off the line, as the same time as a Mini Clubman, which was the 5 millionth front wheel drive BMC car, came off the line in the next building. I wanted to know the genesis. I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. 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. After these cars, and the formation of British Leyland in 1968, Issigonis was sidelined by a new influx of engineers led by Triumphs Harry Webster. August 26, 2019. 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. It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. On a cheerier note, Id love to see that Alvin on the flesh. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born in the Turkish town of Smyrna, today's Izmir, as the son of a Briton of Greek origin and a mother from Bavaria, on 18 November 1906. BLMC says, Archive : Lord Stokes writes to Alec Issigonis, Archive : How Harry Webster is going to shape your car, Archive : The Thoughts of Chairman Stokes, Archive : Issigonis The Giant Who Thought Small, Archive : Creative role for Issigonis in BMC board switch, Archive : Mr Issigonis looks to the future, Archive : Interview Motor meets Alec Issigonis, The cars : Alfa Romeo Alfasud development story, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, Essay : Austin Maestro styling the real killer, Concepts and prototypes : LM10 and LM11 facelifts, Archive : Coventry Council Debates Rover Crisis, News : PSA confirms continued van production in Luton.