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. He was born on November 18, 1906 and his birthplace is Turkey. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. He did not want more conventional answers, without at least exploring some technical advances. as an American familiar only with U.S. cars. 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. Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Horse. The MG 1100 Sport Sedan a perfect choice when a two-seater MG is too small. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. O interesse pelo automvel veio aos 12 anos, quando ele viu um pela primeira vez. In March 1957 Lord asked (more likely told, as Lord did not do asking) Issigonis to come up with something to compete with them. He lived and worked in England " A camel is a horse designed by a committee " " Pure Math is the enemy of every truly creative man" Sir Alec's grandfather Demosthenes was sort of a mechanical genius having . Below are all possible answers to this clue ordered by its rank. From 1925-1928 he studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. is bigger, and is just one of a family of related models. View gallery - 6 images. 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. I have liked them ever since. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS, RDI (Alec Issigonis) was born on 18 November 1906 in Smyrna in Greece (now Izmir, Turkey) and would become world-renowned for designing the Mini and Morris Minor for BMC. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Noch ein Mini (A Mini! The family had an engineering business making marine engines and pumps, and it was from observing his father at work that he determined to become an engineer. 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. In November 1971, Issigonis officially retired from BLMC, with a major ceremony at Longbridge, for which BL marshalled an example of every car for which he had led the design, of which only the Minor was no longer in production. Innovative. XC/9001 became ADO17 and was launched, also with the Hydrolastic suspension system, as the Austin 1800 in October 1964.The same principle was carried over for his next production car the Austin Maxi, However, by then he had become more aware of the cost considerations of vehicle manufacture and in service warranty costs which were crippling BMC. Proslavil se zejmna nvrhem vozu Mini, kter uvedla na trh British Motor Corporation v . Issigonis planned two versions, known as the TA/350 with a 3.5 litre V8 and TA/175 with a 1750cc, V4 engine. Constantine studied in England. 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. It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. 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 . When we stopped sending children up chimneys we reemployed them to work or minis. 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. 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. 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 key point to the genesis of the Minor is that Issigonis owned the whole design, including the exterior style, the interior,which had some of the starkness and simple functionality familiar from Issigoniss later designs. Sir Alec Issigonis. Alec Issigonis, technical director of the British Motor Corporation and Charles Griffin, chief engineer, answer questions from our technical editor. I saw one, in 79 or 80, sold here as the MG Sports Sedan. People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. body design expertise was by Italian firm Pininfarina. BL were in thrall of the myth theyd created, but the buying public had much more sense. Due to time pressures, the interconnected suspension system that Issigonis had planned for the car was replaced by an equally novel, but cruder, rubber cone system designed by Alex Moulton. A truly fascinating man he was. Corrections? Red: Yeah, its mine. File nella categoria "Alec Issigonis" Questa categoria contiene 5 file, indicati di seguito, su un totale di 5. Issigonis was giving punters what they needed, rather than what they wanted. Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. with 8 letters was last seen on the March 01, 2023.We found 20 possible solutions for this clue. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and commemorations 4 Some of his cars Absolutely brilliant article about an engineering genius. Issigonis (standing) with the special at Shelsey Walsh hillclimb. Are you sure Renault had transverse-engine hatchbacks by 1974? Its practicality and affordability made it immediately popular; by the time of Issigonis death more than five million had been sold. Alec Issigonis - Etsy Check out our alec issigonis selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. 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. In 1942, Morris gave Issigonis overall responsibility for an all-new model; the Morris Minor. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. People over the road from us had a Wolseley Six (top of the range Landcrab) when we were kids. [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. Yes, it ran like hell when operable as the owner treated it like an Army Jeep. Alec Issigonis An expert is someone who tells you why you can't do something. 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. He would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. The strengths of this sign are being resourceful, brave, passionate, a true friend, while weaknesses can be distrusting, jealous, secretive and violent. The Minor, Mini, ADO16 and Landcrab all had character, and were all friendly cars. Issigonis had no input to the Marina (other than it using substantial elements from the Morris Minor of course) or the Allegro, as BMC had passed a thin very development programme to Leyland in 1968, largely due to financial pressures. But beneath this surface, he was a sensitive and more vulnerable person, and was almost certainly (and inexcusably) the subject of some intolerance and prejudice from the UK born staff. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. 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. 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. He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. Even as Britain entered the 1960s, product planning remained something of an alien concept to its native carmakers, the majority of whom viewed such matters as being the sort of recondite nonsense invented in the United States, and best left there. Issigonis had a reputation, deserved by all accounts, for arrogance and irascibility, an inability to suffer fools at all, and restricted his contact to as a small as a group as he could. The Mini was launched in 1959, and became instantly popular. Sir Alec Issigonis, in full Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, (born Nov. 18, 1906, Smyrna [now zmir], Tur.died Oct. 2, 1988, Birmingham, Eng. [], 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. Issigonis never married; most accounts suggest that he was probably gay but he was obviously unable to express himself without huge risk to his professional status and even the risk of prosecution. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. Morris 1100. Professor Alex Moulton. His father, a successful and wealthy shipbuilding engineer, was of Greek origin but held a British passport. The Mini was designed by. The irony being, of all the cars built in the world that follow his layout, none carry an Austin or Morris badge. Enter your username or email to reset your password. Sir Alec Issigonis celebrates one of the many milestones of the Mini dynasty. 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. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. Morriss chief engineer, A V (Vic) Oak, recognised that Issigoniss greatest asset was his imagination but also noted that it needed to be guided firmly but carefully to bring out the best of it. It confronted the conservative image of BMC head on, even if the rest of BMC range didnt. Comprehensive article. 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 The big steering wheels angle was a bit bus-like though. But his true interest was in the 9X and its power unit, and getting a version of it accepted by BL. Back in 1980 a friends father of mine who was a MP sergeant owned a then new Mini Cooper 1275 cc. Perhaps it was a trait that ran in the family. Another Mini!). 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. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Been a fan of Alec Issigonis since I was 8 years old. Issigonis' creation was remarkable, but it really only became a Mini when he got a little help from his friend, motorsport pioneer John Cooper. 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. View 6 Images. At the end of the Greek-Turkish war in 1922, British subjects in Smyrna were evacuated by the Royal Navy, ahead of the Turkish re-possession of the area from Greece, with manyinitially travelling to Malta. After studying engineering, he joined Morris Motors in 1936 as a suspension designer. A deeply flawed genius at best. (I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) The end of the agreement came in 1986, when Issigonis wrote directly to Graham Day, BLs then new Chairman. [4] His maternal ancestors originated in the Kingdom of Wrttemberg. The 1100 benefited from someone elses external design. Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. 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. He immigrated to Britain in 1922, studied engineering and in 1948 masterminded the Morris Minor, the first British car to sell more than a million. Issigonis then went back to the British Motor Corporation, where the influence of many political factors led him to his major breakthrough. 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.
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