alec issigonis familyalec issigonis family

So in here in the U.S. the ADO16 went down in obscurity, while its far less sophisticated but more reliable competition built by the Axis powers took over the small car market. 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 . Then of course there was severe corrosion in the face of road salt. By placing an A series four cylinder engine transversely with the gearbox underneath in the sump and sharing the oil, and moving the wheels to the corners, he saved so much space that it was possible to accommodate a four seat car within a length of 10 feet. I wanted to know the genesis. It certainly appeared by the Maxi development era that Issigonis wanted to "do his own thing" as cost cutting and development costs spiraled. Manual transmissions seemed to hold up ok,lasting at least as long as the engine. The last sighting was of a 71 America, in 81, and looking very well cared for. 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. Moultons hydrolastic suspension as installed on the BMC ADO16 by Issigonis. Alec Issigonis : The Man Who Made the Mini - books.google.com The task: a car with lots of space inside with minimum dimensions outside, seats for four passengers, impeccable driving characteristics, superior fuel economy, and a very affordable price. At some point in the mid-60s they ran an After the New Wears Off feature by an MG 1100 owner in Los Angeles. 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. Alec Issigonis - Wikipedie Required fields are marked *. Sir Alecs design which we built won the design centre award. Alec Issigonis - Etsy . It was through his mother's kinships that Issigonis was a first cousin once removed to BMW and Volkswagen director Bernd Pischetsrieder.[5]. He left Morris in 1952 for Alvis just as BMC was created from Austin and Morris (as well as Riley, Wolseley and MG).. Issigonis continued to work as Engineering Director at the Austin-Morris Division of BMC, and as Technical Director of BMC in 1965. Once more details are available, we will update this section. Iconic. Etsy Search for items or shops Close search Skip to Content Sign in 0 Cart Cyber Sales Event Jewelry & Accessories Clothing & Shoes On the surface it didnt appear very desirable to Me, or to prospective new-car buyers. The Mini went on to become the best selling British car in history with a production run of 5.3million cars. Great article there should be a movie about Issigonis! Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 - Solar Navigator Who are the richest people in the world? Sir Alec Issigonis is best remembered for the Austin Mini - a car that revolutionised the small car package and probably saved the British Motor Corporation at the same time. Unless it was at some very small, unique company; something like TVR comes to mind. Ruling Planet: Alec Issigonis had a ruling planet of Pluto and has a ruling planet of Pluto. 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. During the war, Morris Motors undertook military work, notably the development of the Morris lightweight reconnaissance vehicle for the War Department. In 1969, in recognition of his engineering genius, Queen Elizabeth granted him Knighthood. Morris Minor 1000s , Dropheads, Travelers , Panel Van, and Pick up trucks. 1988: The Passing of an Automotive Legend - Transportation History I wonder if he was to blame for the Mini never having a hatchback, or a more softly suspended version? He excelled in mechanical drawing, but failed his mathematics exams three times. Issigonis returned to BMC to design a range of family vehicles. 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. The 1100 benefited from someone elses external design. 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 would work on the 9X programme, which included a replacement Mini and a new and innovative gearless transmission system. A British citizen born in Turkey in 1906, Issigonis did not see an automobile until he was 12 years old. He inherited his great interest in technology and machines from his father who, shortly after the turn . Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . After studying engineering, he joined Morris Motors in 1936 as a suspension designer. MG 1100/1300 Register - NAMGBR There were, as CC has seen, many and varied reasons for the failure of the Landcrab and Maxi: the control (or rather the lack of it) exercised by Lord and Harriman over Issigonis; the inherited components; and marketing and production issues. Happy birthday to the Mini - New Atlas JUMP TO: Alec Issigoniss biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. 130 King Street West, Exchange Tower, Suite 1800, Toronto, Canada, M5X 1E3. Sir Alec Issigonis - Person - National Portrait Gallery If so, that would seem vindictive on Days part. 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. 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. [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. [11], Issigonis was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1964 Birthday Honours. To get to this point wasnt easy. Alec Issigonis (Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis) was born in Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey). 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. 1925 . 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. At the end of 1955, Issigonis moved to BMC to head up the development of the corporations new family of cars. Issigonis with XC/9001, the car that became the Landcrab. Enter the length or pattern for better results. His last Morris projects were the 1953 Morris Oxford and Isis saloons, launched after the BMC merger, and which used the BMC B series engine. That is how many of us know about these cars or about many 1960s British cars, in general. Alec Issigonis: straight from a family thrilled by technology. Alec Issigonis was born on the 18th of November, 1906. He was known for being a Entrepreneur. 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. Here in Australia they didnt seem particularly small, but they were certainly a lot more roomy than the competition. Probably the closest British comparison is the Jaguar Mk 1 which came out in 1955 and was produced at a rate of around 10-15,000 for thirteen years. 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. By 1941, Issigonis had started work on an advanced post war car, then codenamed Mosquito, which became the Morris Minor. I got to drive his Red mini when I went for fish and chips on a Friday. While the intention was for the space efficient FWD cars to replace much of the existing overlapping BMC range (that all should have been hatchbacks in retrospect), it would have been interesting to see a rear-wheel drive Cortina rival with fully-independent suspension derived from Issigoniss work at Alvis to slot between the 1100/1300 and 1800/2200. 41 Copy quote. 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! [], 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The XC (experimental car) code names assigned for the new cars were XC/9001 - for a large comfortable car, XC/9002 - for a medium-sized family car, and XC/9003 . On his side, Issigonis built a large model railway in the double garage that ran out through the walls and around the garden. 10 Things Everyone Forgot About Mini And Its Cars When is Alec Issigoniss birthday? My appreciation of Issigonis designs really came when Auntie Merle traded her Austin A30 (horrible car) for a Morris 1100. The family is almost penniless. Issigonis was a good packaging designer. 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. At the age of 30 he worked for the Morris Engineering Department and celebrated his first success with the construction of the Morris Minor. Issigonis had also been involved in the larger Oxford, Isis and Wolseley ranges. His father was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from the Greek island, Paros. Most events he entered were sprints and hillclimbs, but he also competed in some circuit races. In 1942, the first scale model was produced and the following year work began on a hand-formed steel prototype. At Alvis, Issigoniss main task was to lead the development of a more affordable, higher volume luxury car. 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? [], BMC changed the world with the launch of the Mini in 1959. [], 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. In 1928 his first job was in the design office of Gillett, an engineering firm in London. He remained on the BL books as a consultant until 1988, shortly before his death. And I myself have engineered a few things with the help of Jack Daniels . Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS, RDI (18 November 1906 - 2 October 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential . Another thing Sir Alec did not think was important perhaps? 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. A British citizen born in Turkey in 1906, Issigonis did not see an automobile until he was 12 years old. The ease of driving it, attributable to Issigoniss careful and thoughtful suspension and steering design, as well as the comparatively low weight of the car, were factors in that as well as the comfort and space it provided. [3][6] His father died shortly after and Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom in 1923. All Rights Reserved. I appreciate the research the depth and the smooth writing style to present it all in a gripping way. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. The childhood . The Minor, Mini, ADO16 and Landcrab all had character, and were all friendly cars. By 1939, Issigonis had replaced his modified Austin Seven with a more radical car of his own design, constructed of plywood laminated in aluminium sheeting, in what we would now call a composite construction. Mini: a brief history - The Telegraph His mother was from Bavaria. A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF THE MINI FOUNDER. [9] He was cremated at the Lodge Hill Cemetery in nearby Selly Oak. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . Certainly, it was not the right job for him, taking him too far away from the sketching and ideas, and into meetings about pay scale reviews and marketing policies. (I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) 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. Issigonis, The Mini Mastermind - On This Day Prior to his death, Alec and his mother travelled overland to London. Bookmark this page and come back often for updates. as an American familiar only with U.S. cars. Alec Issigonis Way Oxford Business Park Oxford OX4 2HN United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 1865 783 000 Oxford Biomedica Solutions 1 Patriots Park Bedford MA 01730 United States Telephone: +1 781 428 4536 Email :solutions.partnering@oxb.com Oxford Biomedica (Ireland) Ltd Office 502 Balheary Demense Balheary Road Swords Co. Dublin Ireland [12], In 1964 Issigonis was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI). I saw that same car several times, so, at least in nice weather, it apparently was a daily driver. Later, he was working on an independent suspension for the larger Humber Hawk, with another rising star in the industry, Bill Heynes. It was the highlight of my career and came early as I was just 18 years old and just an apprentice engineer for a tractor company. 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. Alec Issigonis, the brilliant British designer of the Morris Minor and the Mini, is one of the commanding figures in the history of automobile design and engineering. FamousBirthdays.com - use subject to the practices disclosed in our privacy policy. The closure of the Suez canal created . I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. It was at Alvis that Issigonis first worked with another of the influential characters of his career. Alec Issigonis nasceu na Turquia Filho de um grego naturalizado britnico casado com uma turca. While much derided for its lack of style, I do love the huge smile he put on the front of the original 1800 Landcrab. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. . Autokonstrukteur, GBPortrt mit Zigarette- 1959. Issigonis, Alec - Hellenism.Net Whos the richest Entrepreneur in the world. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industry's great independent thinkers. His name? It was more like a Lancia or a rear drive Citroen than a Rover or a Sunbeam-Talbot. the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune were not yet discovered, since the telescope had not yet been invented. Was it to be front or rear engined? His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Issigonis Prototype 1970 Mini 9X - atwellwilson.org.uk By 1964, BMC had built over one million front wheel drive vehicles, including over 800,000 Minis and over 200,000 ADO16s, and over a third were exported. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. The Mini, and the other Issigonis BMC front wheel drive cars, benefited from Issigonis continuing collaboration with Alex Moulton and his suspension system developments. Happy birthday to the Mini! 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. Given his disrupted education, unusual background and the tough economic times that were the late 1920s, finding a job was not easy, but in 1928, and by now a British citizen in his own right, Issigonis took his first job in the motor industry, for Edward Gillett in London, through a networking contact he had made at Battersea. I was mesmerized and I saw my schoolmate being dropped off by his older brother who was on his way to high school. 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. Thank you very much for a wonderful biography. Oxbotica Toronto Office. File nella categoria "Alec Issigonis" Questa categoria contiene 5 file, indicati di seguito, su un totale di 5. O interesse pelo automvel veio aos 12 anos, quando ele viu um pela primeira vez. As a person whos worked as a CAD drafter for 24 years, I wonder what his objection to CAD was. I have labelled it the Most Significant Car of the 1940s; it is probably the most recognised British car, apart from the Mini, and the most fondly remembered car by many British families and motorists. Sir Alec Issigonis. Alec Issigonis Net Worth, Age, Bio, Birthday, Height, Facts * Commander of the British Empire (1964), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1967), Royal Designer for Industry (1964). Despite its stated mission being to provide basic transport, this level of driving enjoyment, and capability, was like a non stop Christmas present. Sir Alec Issigonis started his career at Humber, known for their Humber Snipe and Humber Hawk models, even Queen Elizabeth II owned a Humber. 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. Issigonis did observe and try to improve on what he saw, but always challenged himself to be original and better. Having been a passenger in an early Austin Landcrab on several occasions I can confirm they are amazingly spacious inside, front and rear. He attended Londons Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. 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. It did get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. Day terminated the consultancy agreement, without any more consultation. Lord was looking for modernity, but he was also looking for commonality of engines, good quality design and cars good enough to be amongst the best in their class and internationally competitive. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. [], The Mini is 63 years old this week. At this time, he was working for Maurice Olley. Alec issigonis hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy Alec's mother, Hulda Prokopp, could trace her origins back to Wrttemberg (now part of Germany). Contents Early life and education Career Legacy Honours Some of his cars Alec Issigonis An expert is someone who tells you why you can't do something. Friendly was ideal for owner-buyers, a large part of the British car buying public, but never appealed to thrusting young execs and salesmen, which is why BLMC was so desperate for the Marina to crack the fleet market. As a matter of interest, go to this site: and click on the Letter From Dr. Alex Moulton link. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Dr.Ing. And a rally demon was born. He continued to be responsible for his original XC projects. 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. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. body design expertise was by Italian firm Pininfarina. His motor industry career at Humber, and during his time there, he competed in motor racing notably designing his own lightweight version of a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven with his own front axle. 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. Starting around 1930, he raced a supercharged "Ulster" Austin Seven, later fitting it with a front axle of his own design, leading to employment at Austin. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. SOL 258H is the oldest surviving gearless car and was the preferred transport of Sir Alex Issigonis. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. Maybe because theyd lost the Issigonis chassis manners? Issigonis customer in this case was Maurice Wilks, later the man behind the Land Rover. The relationship got to the point where Issigonis had the ideas, did the sketches and Daniels did the formal drawings. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis - Academia.edu By 1969 Fiat had also followed with the 128, and by 1974 Peugeot, VW and Renault had transverse engine hatchbacks as well. 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 . Sir Alec Issigonis. 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. The Axis Powers? Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. Sounds like his stubbornness had a lot in common with Henry Ford and his reluctance to move on from the Model T. Imagine trying to take him seriously when he declared an uncomfortable driver is an alert driver. I do not know how many I have owned Morrises, Austins and MGs. Biography: Sir Alec Issigonis - Curbside Classic Absolutely brilliant article about an engineering genius. And the result was the creation of more than just an economical car. *27/02/01 The new Mini which will go on sale in the UK summer 2001, was , being unveiled for the first time. There was a good reason for BMC selecting him for this task, for Issigonis was born in Izmir. 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. Alec Issigonis Popularity Most Popular Born in 1906 First Name Alec #31 #1 Entrepreneur Born in Turkey #2 Alec Issigonis Is A Member Of Born In 1906 Entrepreneurs First Name Alec Scorpios His father, however, did not survive the crossing. 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. Issigonis was an engineer, first and foremost, but I have used the terms design/designer in this piece, in the way that was contemporaneous to Issigonis and as he would have understood it, although we would now use use engineering. He was a race car driver during the 30's and 40's.