alec issigonis family

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. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. Issigonis would later state that pure mathematics (is) the enemy of every truly creative man. He began his engineering career at Morris Motors Ltd. in 1936 as a steering and suspension engineer. 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 . After studying engineering, he joined Morris Motors in 1936 as a suspension designer. 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. On a cheerier note, Id love to see that Alvin on the flesh. He remained on the BL books as a consultant until 1988, shortly before his death. At Alvis, Issigoniss main task was to lead the development of a more affordable, higher volume luxury car. 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. Towards the end of WW2, he began work on the Mosquito project, which ended up being launched in 1948 as the Morris Minor. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. Alec Issigonis: straight from a family thrilled by technology. He didnt give a damn about the poor sods who had to work on his cars. A reliable car with excellent steering and cornering qualities, it was the first all-British car to pass the one million mark in sales; surviving models are still cherished by owners and collectors. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Stokes was heard on his appointment to say: "We'll sharp sort this bloke Issigonis out!". And I myself have engineered a few things with the help of Jack Daniels . It confronted the conservative image of BMC head on, even if the rest of BMC range didnt. Morris 1100. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis . 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. Alec Issigonis. (The Maxi, by comparison, was a bland lump.). Humber were more interested in the sales engineer than his product, and Issigonis moved to Humber in 1933. Unique. 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. As a matter of interest, go to this site: and click on the Letter From Dr. Alex Moulton link. Comprehensive article. He was born on November 18, 1906 and his birthplace is Turkey. Post FROM OUR MIDLAND CORRESPONDENT BIRMINGHAM, Nov. 13 The name of the man who will head the British Motor Corporations new amalgamated design unit when []. Matchbox featured an MG 1100 in its 1-75 line-up for many years. For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. 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. BMC was producing over 11,000 Issigonis-designed front-wheel-drive models a week, with demand still exceeding production, which was continually increased. The war prevented this design from going into production but it was later used on the MG Y-type. 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. 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. Demosthenis acquired British nationality through the work he did for the British-built Smyrna-Aydin Railway. In later years, the car would become known simply as the Mini. The challenge of designing the Mini was engineering a car that would seat four passengers and their luggage in a package not to exceed ten feet in length. This post and its visuals and videos explains this pivotal vector of the international industry with such clarity and depth. 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. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. That Alvis is one of those missed opportunities that ultimately doomed the company. A truly fascinating man he was. This isnt 1942. Issigonis and Dowson then travelled into Austria to the mountain climb competition at the then new Grossglockner Hochalpen Pass. It was more like a Lancia or a rear drive Citroen than a Rover or a Sunbeam-Talbot. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. The loss of British sovereignty led not only to a political defeat but also to an oil crisis. I have liked them ever since. He would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. XC/9002 became ADO16 and was launched as the Morris 1100 with the Hydrolastic interconnected suspension system in August 1962. 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. The war years were spent. Sir Alec Issigonis started his career at Humber, known for their Humber Snipe and Humber Hawk models, even Queen Elizabeth II owned a Humber. The Mini was designed by. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. Decades later, despite enormous further developments, the vehicle has lost none of its initial charm. Issigonis who designed the Mini auto Crossword Clue The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "Issigonis who designed the Mini auto", 4 letters crossword clue. Humber was the upscale brand of the Rootes Group, but also the name of the main car building company in the Group. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. Biography: Sir ALEC issigonis - The designer of Britain's favourite cars, Britain's favourite car designer . During the war, Morris Motors undertook military work, notably the development of the Morris lightweight reconnaissance vehicle for the War Department. 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. I think you can see a narrower car in one of the pre-production photos, above. And the 1800 the rear seat really seemed limousine-like for the size of the car. 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. Red: Yeah, its mine. Unfortunately the ADO16 did not do well in the U.S. as the Austin America, which was imported here in an attempt to eat some of VWs lunch in the late 1960s. 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. Get In Touch Call or Email. At the opening of the factory BMC was represented by Sir Alec Issigonis. I hardly ever drove a Mini or an 1100, but many miles of driving a Landcrab made me understand why it was so very good, in spite of some engineering shortcuts. Youre right about maintenance. The first car to repeat the concept of the Mini was the ADO16, which is often considered to be Issigoniss finest hour. Even more significantly, it effectively defined the configuration of the small and medium car for the next 50 years. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. 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. . Born in Turkey, Issigonis come to England as a teenager. By the time the chassis had been completed, Issigonis had somehow got hold of an Austin supplied works specification supercharged side-valve engine as well. View gallery - 6 images. All Rights Reserved. [11], Issigonis was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1964 Birthday Honours. The typical American indifference to regular maintenance did not play well with this setup. He was popular for being a Entrepreneur. 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. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. The closure of the Suez canal created . And Alec Issigonis? However, as we all know, it was no profit-maker for BMC and, during its hyper-successful first decade on the market, its maker cruelly and criminally failed to develop the concept into something that the customers truly wanted a hatchback. 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 . Issigonis with XC/9001, the car that became the Landcrab. Unfortunately I didnt turn out quite as brilliant, but I like to think I missed out some of the stubbornness/arrogance as well. He and Frank Stephenson are both famous car designers. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Contents Early life and education Career Legacy Honours Some of his cars 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. Oxford Office. Alec Issigonis and Dr Alex Moulton, the creator of Hydrolastic and Hydragas suspension, with a Morris 1100, circa 1962. Issigonis also insisted that no less than 80% of the cars volume be dedicated to passengers and luggage. 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. The Minor, Mini, ADO16 and Landcrab all had character, and were all friendly cars. 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. Alec Issigonis is part of G.I. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. He was known for being a Entrepreneur. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. Happy birthday to the Mini! To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. 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. 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.

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