Meanwhile from 1930, he raced a supercharged Ulster Austin Seven, and fitted it with an independent front suspension of his own design. The Lightweight Special - TNF's Archive - The Autosport Forums [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. Great write about a very clever guy, but he was wrong an uncomfortable driver is an irritable driver who fatigues rather more quickly, The Landcrab while being comfortable to ride in as a passenger is not so nice to drive nor are the smaller cars from BMC, there are many surviving ADO16s here and NZ is still the Morris Minor capital of the world they will never become rare here and for that matter neither will real Minis but 1800s and Maxis are quite thin on the ground already yet were popular new they werent very durable though, and the last Princess Ive seen is a rusty example outside the British car museum at Te Awanga, Personally having driven all his ideas the Morris Minor was his best one that saw production, I got my first car licence in a Morry Thou. 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. 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. Another Mini! A family that . It is arguably doubtful that Lord, knowing Issigonis better, would have seen him as the ideal candidate for the overall technical leadership of BMC. I got to drive his Red mini when I went for fish and chips on a Friday. . 37 Sir Alec Issigonis Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images Suffice to say it was an ambitious project for a family of compact cars - the smaller of the pair shorter overall than . 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. And a rally demon was born. He would instead research work on his Mini replacement the 9X with its compact transverse engine. info@oxbotica.com +44 (0)1865 433 998. Corrections? No wonder Issigonis felt flattered I feel very, very proud that so many people have copied me.. The Mini was launched in 1959, and became instantly popular. is bigger, and is just one of a family of related models. Morris Minor 1000s , Dropheads, Travelers , Panel Van, and Pick up trucks. 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 was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. Matchbox featured an MG 1100 in its 1-75 line-up for many years. He was a race car driver during the 30's and 40's. Sir Alec Issigonis. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: , )CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. It had one option an AM radio, hung below the dash. Constantine was very proud of his British citizenship and Alec grew up in a traditional British type of household. the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune were not yet discovered, since the telescope had not yet been invented. Issigonis Prototype 1970 Mini 9X - atwellwilson.org.uk Thanks for a wonderfully researched article! : Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis , CBE, FRS, RDI 19061118-1988102 . 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 . The gearbox in sump was a dead end in terms of automotive design. Issigonis became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1967 and was knighted in 1969. Oxbotica Toronto Office. By 1941, Issigonis had started work on an advanced post war car, then codenamed Mosquito, which became the Morris Minor. Sir Alec Issigonis started his career at Humber, known for their Humber Snipe and Humber Hawk models, even Queen Elizabeth II owned a Humber. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS terkenal kerana menjadi pencipta kereta Mini yang menjadi ikon tahun 1960-an. 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 would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. as an American familiar only with U.S. cars. 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. German Engineer Who Designed And Built The First Practical Automobile (Crossword ClueThe crossword clue German engineer who designed and built the first practical automobile. Issigonis actually sketched the Minis original design with a pencil on a tablecloth. I wouldnt say Day was offended but took it as evidence that Issigoniss time has passed and that the value Rover were getting from the consultancy was minimal, and it was effectively indulging Issigonis, something Turnbull and Donald Stokes could afford t0 do (and knew looked rational) in 1970. . 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. Alec Issigonis - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and commemorations 4 Some of his cars The Minor, Mini, ADO16 and Landcrab all had character, and were all friendly cars. The 1100 and later 1300 outsold the Mini by a considerable margin and remained Britains best-selling car right through the 1960s. Kereta rekaannya, BMC Mini dilancarkan dalam tahun 1959. Alec Issigonis. His fingerprints are all over other cars, too, the Austin 1800 Land Crab and the Austin Maxi for example, but not always as successfully, as we shall see. Sir Alec Issigonis | Autopedia | Fandom Alec Issigonis - Trivia, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays The childhood . Fascinating lost papers from the man who created the Mini and the. . Unfortunately I didnt turn out quite as brilliant, but I like to think I missed out some of the stubbornness/arrogance as well. The first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough - All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? Mini: a brief history - The Telegraph 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. Vic Oak and Reginald Hanks, Morriss Managing Director did though, arranging a 50% salary increase for Issigonis in April 1948, to 1500 per year. Alec Issigonis Biography | HowOld.co Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 - 2 October 1988) was a Greek automotive designer. Biography: Sir Alec Issigonis - Curbside Classic Maybe because theyd lost the Issigonis chassis manners? But his true interest was in the 9X and its power unit, and getting a version of it accepted by BL. O interesse pelo automvel veio aos 12 anos, quando ele viu um pela primeira vez. Back in 1980 a friends father of mine who was a MP sergeant owned a then new Mini Cooper 1275 cc. 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. 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. Generation. The Mini caused a sensation with its design and rather small size in the late 1950s thanks to its inventor, the Englishman Alec Issigonis. Roger, are you saying that Graham Day ended the consultancy and goodwill payments because he was offended by Issigoniss letter? And Alec Issigonis? Omissions? Demosthenis's son (Alec's father) Constantine Issigonis (Greek: ), was born, with British nationality, in Smyrna in 1872. Issigonis spent his early years as an engineer with Morris Motors working on steering and suspension. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Noch ein Mini! 130 King Street West, Exchange Tower, Suite 1800, Toronto, Canada, M5X 1E3. Alec issigonis hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy TOP 8 QUOTES BY ALEC ISSIGONIS | A-Z Quotes 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. This prototype was never manufactured because its cost was beyond Alvis's resources. Alec Issigonis 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. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . Production only finished after BMW had bailed out of Rover in 2000. Are you sure Renault had transverse-engine hatchbacks by 1974? Alec's mother, Hulda Prokopp, could trace her origins back to Wrttemberg (now part of Germany). Alec Issigonis - Career - LiquiSearch Where was the gearbox to be fitted on a front wheel drive car? Chinese Zodiac: Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Innovative. At this time, he was working for Maurice Olley. But fearful that his freedom would be curbed in such a large company, Issigonis resigned from BMC and went to work for the much smaller Alvis company. 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. Did they aim to build in greater volume, to compete with emerging brands such as Jaguar, or did they retreat further upmarket or even entirely into other activities? On 15 October 2006 a rally was held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, England, to celebrate the centenary of Issigonis's birth. 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. In 1936, he moved to Morris Motors Limited at Cowley working on an independent front suspension system for the Morris 10. In 1961, with the Mini gaining popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. In October, 1957, just eight months after first putting pen to paper, the first prototypes were on the road. 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. Alec Issigonis - Wikipedia [4] His maternal ancestors originated in the Kingdom of Wrttemberg. Getting a guy like Issigonis to design a V8 saloon and just chucking it in the bin. On October 2, 1988, he passed . Later, he was working on an independent suspension for the larger Humber Hawk, with another rising star in the industry, Bill Heynes. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industry's great independent thinkers. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. Issigonis officially retired from the motor industry in 1971, although he continued working until shortly before his death in 1988 at his house in Edgbaston, Birmingham. 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. Issigonis who designed the Mini auto Crossword Clue People of this zodiac sign like truth, being right, longtime friends, teasing, and dislike dishonesty, revealing secrets, passive people. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. In 1957, Issigonis received the project that would make him famous. Alec Issigoniss mothers name is unknown at this time and his fathers name is under review. 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. The first car I could identify was apparently a Mini and my mother still tells the story of an early trip to England where I wouldnt be quiet Ein Mini! 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. I saw this tiny car among the Buicks Oldsmobiles Mercurys and Chevrolet Impalas that were the usual fare. Alec Issigonis was born in Smyrna (now Izmir) in Turkey on 18 November 1906 to a British-naturalized father of Greek origin and a Bavarian-born mother. But at the age of 50, he began designing one of the most iconic vehicles ever produced: the classic Mini. File nella categoria "Alec Issigonis" Questa categoria contiene 5 file, indicati di seguito, su un totale di 5. 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. Austin Healey Sprites , 3000s Austin Americas, MG Midget, MGAs MGBs Mg 1100s I had many of each model. The cars quickly found their way to the scrapheap since the cost of repairing the automatic transmission typically was more than the car was worth. 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 Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS (18 November 1906-2 October 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the groundbreaking and influential development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959. 1925 . Great summary of a giant of industrial design. 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. BMC . They paid him to design a tractor safety cab after their own designers had 3 attempts and we built 3 failures. You serve us all wonderfully. in there was a 1 hr "The Mini Man " -Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 by great friend and car fanatic Peter Ustinov. August 26, 2019. Constantine studied in England. Not sure how true it is, but I read somewhere that he even designed the ashtrays for the Minor. The Landcrab and Maxi were so butt ugly that no self respecting petrolhead would be seen it one. [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. This post and its visuals and videos explains this pivotal vector of the international industry with such clarity and depth. 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. His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Therefore some functionality is missing. Learn how your comment data is processed. [12], In 1964 Issigonis was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI). Perhaps it was a trait that ran in the family. Sir Alec Issigonis, in full Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, (born Nov. 18, 1906, Smyrna [now zmir], Tur.died Oct. 2, 1988, Birmingham, Eng. Alec Issigonis was born in 1900s. Alec Issigonis nasceu na Turquia Filho de um grego naturalizado britnico casado com uma turca. 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. It was still in production when BMW, led by Bernd Pischetsreider, bought Rover in 1994. 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 . 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. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS (November 18, 1906-October 2, 1988) was a Greek-British designer of cars, now remembered chiefly for the development of the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959. Issigonis legacy. Morris 1100. Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 - Solar Navigator XC/9002 became ADO16 and was launched as the Morris 1100 with the Hydrolastic interconnected suspension system in August 1962. He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. 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 get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. [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. 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. Alternate titles: Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis. Humber were more interested in the sales engineer than his product, and Issigonis moved to Humber in 1933. Having failed his mathematics exams three times, subsequently declaring it 'the most uncreative subject you can study',[3] Issigonis decided to enter the University of London External Programme to complete his university education. 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. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. Issigonis also insisted that no less than 80% of the cars volume be dedicated to passengers and luggage. I tell you the last time I was that close to a Japanese machine, it was shooting at me.. From then onwards, any car in the small or medium market without a transverse engine was considered unusual, and conservative. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. The car was launched at the 1948 London Motor Show, alongside the Land Rover and Jaguar XK120, and the rest is pure CC history. [citation needed], Issigonis was nicknamed "the Greek god" by his contemporaries. Sir Alec Issigonis ( 1906-1988 ) was an exceptional car designer who is best known for his development of the Mini.He was born in Smyrna ( Izmir ) in Turkey, the son of British-Greek parents. It was designed to follow on from the Mini and 1100 as the next generation . 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. In a front-wheel-drive car, with more understeer and/or a bit more resistance at the wheel, this effect might be enhanced ? Issigonis 'response was dry and forceful:'I'm an engineer. Required fields are marked *. This strong streak of fierce independence and lack of compromise hid his lateral approach to the design and engineering of cars. I was eight when my dad bought one of those brand new cars at a reduced price from the NYC dealer $850 for an Austin 850 ($6,800 in 2016 money) There was a good reason for BMC selecting him for this task, for Issigonis was born in Izmir. Was it to be water or air cooled? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. One thing that I learnt the hard way well not the hard way, the easy way when youre designing a new car for production, never, never copy the opposition, declared Issigonis, when asked to summarise his approach to car design. As his father studied in London, being an engineer, the family were British subjects and were thus evacuated to Malta by the Royal Navy in September 1922, ahead of the Great Fire of Smyrna at the end of the . Issigonis was probably privately satisfied with that arrangement, as it took him away from the daily grind of corporate management and designing production ready cars and back into the more conceptual field where he had the opportunity to use his innovative skills the kind of role Leonard Lord had originally given him twelve years earlier and which led to the Mini and the ADO16. Alec Issigonis was already known for his popular and respected Morris Minor. [8], With the creation of British Leyland in 1969, new chairman Lord Stokes quickly sidelined Issigonis and made him into what was termed "Special Developments Director", replacing him with Harry Webster as the new Technical Director (Small/Medium cars).
Josie Over Cause Of Death,
C Richard Johnson Psychiatrist Obituary,
Articles A
