He was known for being a Entrepreneur. And a rally demon was born. meantime, John preferred his psychedelic Rolls .. Roger, hats off for this excellent treatment of an engineering legend. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. 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. Austin Maxi: Big On The Inside But Not On The Outside, What a great write up Roger. 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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. Fascinating piece and what a character! 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. : Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis , CBE, FRS, RDI 19061118-1988102 . Sir Alec Issigonis hadn't even seen a car until he was 12 years old. 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. It did not have everything Issigonis wanted, as he originally planned this car to have a V4 engine rather than the BMC A series. Dear Mr Day I have not met you but I feel I must write to explain a few points. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the Greek city of Smyrna (now zmir) in the Ottoman Empire. [1][2], Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. The Mini was designed by. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. The Renault 14 was transversely engined, from 1976. 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. [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. Issigonis customer in this case was Maurice Wilks, later the man behind the Land Rover. . Alec Issigonis and Dr Alex Moulton, the creator of Hydrolastic and Hydragas suspension, with a Morris 1100, circa 1962. 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. I saw this tiny car among the Buicks Oldsmobiles Mercurys and Chevrolet Impalas that were the usual fare. Moulton also designed folding, rubber suspended small-wheeled bicycles. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. Iconic. A deeply flawed genius at best. The MG 1100 Sport Sedan a perfect choice when a two-seater MG is too small. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis - Academia.edu Then of course there was severe corrosion in the face of road salt. I remember being quite put off by the sound of the engine seemingly racing to maintain 45mph. The innovation he created by switching the orientation of the engine, changing the traditional transmission to a transaxle and sending power to the front wheels was a magnificent idea! The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. My Family's Cars and Industry Pivots: Transverse Mounted Front Wheel Drive Found an ad for the US market 1100. . 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. Are you sure Renault had transverse-engine hatchbacks by 1974? To get to this point wasnt easy. Having been a passenger in an early Austin Landcrab on several occasions I can confirm they are amazingly spacious inside, front and rear. At Alvis, Issigoniss main task was to lead the development of a more affordable, higher volume luxury car. He inherited his great interest in technology and machines from his father who, shortly after the turn . Ford clinging to the T too long was the same sort of corporate inertia that had VW clinging to the Bug too long. Arguably, Issigonis and BL were in danger of being left behind. Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. This was to be an advanced saloon with all aluminium V-8 engine, and the original plan was for Alvis to produce 5,000 cars a year, or ten times Alviss current production rate, to compete with Riley (not then a badge engineered BMC product), Rover, Sunbeam-Talbot and Jaguar. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis ( 18. listopadu 1906 Smyrna - 2. jna 1988 Birmingham) byl ecko - britsk automobilov konstruktr narozen na zem dnenho Turecka. Oxford Study Courses His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. More importantly, the end of the agreement also marked the end of goodwill payments from the Company that covered his nursing care, and he was forced to move from his home to a smaller flat. The Royal Navy Marines evacuated British Subjects, including the Issigonis family, from Smyrna before Turkey attacked. 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. Heynes later became Technical Director at Jaguar and was a personal friend of Issigonis for many years. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. He persisted in this into the 1980s, competing in vain against the Austin Metro, an improved version of the BMC A series engine and seemingly oblivious to the Companys financial state. I wanted to know the genesis. 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. He often had to be discreetly talked through financial documents when he was in the board meetings. Mini: a brief history - The Telegraph Probably 30 of these made over the past dozen years, not quite Mini production numbers.. Another excellent piece Roger, and thank you for bringing it to us. He worked on various projects for Morris through the war and towards its end started work on an advanced post war car codenamed Mosquito that became the Morris Minor, which was produced from 1948 until 1971. 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. 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. Dr.Ing. Issigonis' first cousin once removed was Bernd Pischetsreider, responsible . Richard Bremneris well-known for being a highly-respected motoring scribe, but in his formative years, he worked in the employ of Austin-Rover. 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. And Alec Issigonis? Alec Issigonis - Bio, Personal Life, Family & Cause Of Death - CelebsAges By early 1957, prototypes were running, and by mid-1957 the project was given an official drawing office project number (ADO15) so that the thousands of drawings required for production could be produced. https://www.mini.com/ Issigonis' creation was remarkable, but it really only became a Mini when he got a little help from his friend, motorsport pioneer John Cooper. 18 November 1906 2 October 1988", Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, " Alec Issigonis | Automotive Hall of Fame", Alec Issigonis Automotive Designer (19061988), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alec_Issigonis&oldid=1135124708, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 19:54. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. 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. Noch ein Mini (A Mini! 104 Alec Issigonis Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images 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. . But his true interest was in the 9X and its power unit, and getting a version of it accepted by BL. [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. MINI, official partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, has unveiled its new London 2012 special, Keith Adams Well, Christmas and Boxing Day are out of the way and the, The replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000 never took off, thanks in part to a poor, British Motor Holdings the joining of BMC and Jaguar, The cars : Mini (ADO15) development story Part One, Concepts and prototypes : BMC 9X (1968-87), Blog : Why the Italians beat us to a supermini by a decade, History : The Road to Perdition Part One, Interview : Alec Issigonis on the BMC 1100, Archive : Mini Shortlisted For Car Of The Century, Archive : Mini still sold at a loss. 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. The typical American indifference to regular maintenance did not play well with this setup. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. He was born in 1906 in a city that is now known as Izmir, in Turkey which itself can trace its . Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and commemorations 4 Some of his cars Get In Touch Call or Email. Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world? 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. On the surface it didnt appear very desirable to Me, or to prospective new-car buyers. O interesse pelo automvel veio aos 12 anos, quando ele viu um pela primeira vez. Alec Issigonis - Wikipedia Bahasa Melayu, ensiklopedia bebas I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. The rest is racing . [citation needed] He considered it to be a vehicle that combined many of the luxuries and conveniences of a good motor car with a price suitable for the working classes in contrast to the Mini which was a spartan mode of conveyance with everything cut to the bone. 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. If only it had had more power and better gearing. 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. This greatly modified machine was replaced with a radical special completed in 1939, constructed of plywood laminated in aluminium sheeting. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. After briefly working elsewhere in the early 1950s, Issigonis returned to what had become the British Motor Corp., where in 1959, in response to the Suez energy crisis (1956) and the popularity of Germanys Volkswagen Beetle, he introduced the Mini. When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. As a young man, Constantine was sent to England to study, and he later married Hulda Prokopp, the daughter of a wealthy German brewer in Smyrna. Alec's grandfather Demosthenis migrated to Smyrna from the Greek island of Paros in the 1830s.
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