Alec Issigonis is part of G.I. 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 . On a cheerier note, Id love to see that Alvin on the flesh. Issigonis did observe and try to improve on what he saw, but always challenged himself to be original and better. with 8 letters was last seen on the March 01, 2023.We found 20 possible solutions for this clue. They represent many years of design study in attempts to produce the best value for money in the field of small car design. Sir Alec Constantine Issigonis: The Greek who designed the legendary The Axis Powers? [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. The son of a Greek merchant, Issigonis immigrated to London in 1922 during the war between Greece and Turkey. Alec Issigonis Related Authors Vivienne Westwood Quotes Virgil Abloh Quotes Coco Chanel Quotes Carroll Shelby Quotes Where was the gearbox to be fitted on a front wheel drive car? The Morris Minor was an immediate success, selling over 11 million units, and was the first characterization of Issigoniss philosophy of maximizing interior space while shrinking all other components. 1988: The Passing of an Automotive Legend - Transportation History He didnt say by 1974 in regard to VW and Renault. It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. In 1936, Issigonis moved again, to the Morris Motor Company, as a project engineer on an independent front suspension system for the Morris 10, where his experience at Rootes would start to bear fruit. is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". From London to Longbridge: The streets that made Mini 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. 2939 Words; 12 Pages; 6 Works Cited; Essay on The Pure Voice in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles This guilt convinces Tess that she must now travel to the D'Urbervilles' home and claim kin with them. MINI. 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. View 6 Images. As a Morris Minor owner I appreciated it . If only it had had more power and better gearing. I hope he knew that he changed the Automobile World for the better. . In 1936, he moved to Morris Motors Limited at Cowley working on an independent front suspension system for the Morris 10. Enter a Crossword Clue Sort by Length 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. He would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. It was apparent to Morriss senior managers that Issigonis was cut from a different cloth compared to his contemporaries. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. 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. 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. 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. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Alecs father, Constantine Issigonis, who was born in Smyrna in 1872, studied in England, and subsequently returned to Smyrna, keeping the engineering business going through the First World War and maintaining his British citizenship. [5]:277. The inability of these cars to withstand business case scrutiny crucial in the companys decline, and others must also stand up for that -Issigonis didnt claim to be a product planner in the sense Ford would recognise but saw all his cars as separate entities. Oxbotica Toronto Office. Issigonis, The Mini Mastermind - On This Day Essay on The Pure Voice in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Well, he went down in history as the father of the Mini and was even raised to nobility for his services. Lord Alfred Robens , Chairman of the National Coal Board, wearing cap and gown as he is installed as the new Chancellor of the University of . BL were in thrall of the myth theyd created, but the buying public had much more sense. Alec Issigonis It is much easier to drive without having an accident. The strengths of this sign are being resourceful, brave, passionate, a true friend, while weaknesses can be distrusting, jealous, secretive and violent. Alec Issigonis and Dr Alex Moulton, the creator of Hydrolastic and Hydragas suspension, with a Morris 1100, circa 1962. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. 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. His love/hate relationship with the companys products stayed with []. This post and its visuals and videos explains this pivotal vector of the international industry with such clarity and depth. The all-new Mini will be revealed today, on what would have been Mini creator Sir Alec Issigonis's 107th birthday. as an American familiar only with U.S. cars. His father was a successful shipbuilding engineer, whose own father was from the Greek island, Paros. *27/02/01 The new Mini which will go on sale in the UK summer 2001, was , being unveiled for the first time. But his true interest was in the 9X and its power unit, and getting a version of it accepted by BL. Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. There was a long drive way that ran along the school cafeteria that parents used to drop off students in the morning. Meanwhile, back at the office, Issigonis had devised an independent coil spring system for the first unitary construction Morris, the 1938 Ten, but which did not go into production as Morris, conservative as ever, chose a more conventional and cheaper beam axle solution. Sir Alec Constantine Issigonis: The Greek Designer Of The Famous Mini He excelled in mechanical drawing, but failed his mathematics exams three times. I dont remember Dad as being what youd call a sporting driver, but he never considered the later Austin-based Oxfords. I witnessed blowing head gaskets, torn manifold studs and much more and found out that taking the engine out first was the quickest access for any of these repairs! Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. Alec Issigonis Net Worth, Age, Bio, Birthday, Height, Facts Issigonis, Alec - Hellenism.Net So Sir Alec Issigonis had an impact on my life. info@oxbotica.com +44 (0)1865 433 998. Born Alexandros Arnoldos Konstantinos Issigonis on the 18th of November, 1906, Alexander Issigonis' family were part of the Greek community in the port city of Smrna. Issigonis was to use Moultons suspension ideas on all his future cars, with Moulton working in a consultancy capacity to BMC. 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 []. Alec Issigonis - Wikipedia Bahasa Melayu, ensiklopedia bebas In 1942, Morris gave Issigonis overall responsibility for an all-new model; the Morris Minor. 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. For Alec Issigonis it was THE chance to prove himself. Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Horse. I tell you the last time I was that close to a Japanese machine, it was shooting at me.. Alec Issigonis: The Greek Creator of the Mini Car Contents Early life and education Career Legacy Honours Some of his cars Issigonis was a remarkable engineer and obviously made his mark. The Royal Navy Marines evacuated British Subjects, including the Issigonis family, from Smyrna before Turkey attacked. 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. 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. The typical American indifference to regular maintenance did not play well with this setup. 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. Issigonis name will always be associated with the Morris Minor, built for over 20 years, and with the Mini, a car he designed very quickly in the late 1950s and which was built for over 40 years, throughout the tumultuous history of BMC and BLMC, ending only after the BMW led break up of the Rover Group in 2000. 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. 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. Thanks for a wonderfully researched article! At some point in the mid-60s they ran an After the New Wears Off feature by an MG 1100 owner in Los Angeles. In 1961, a shipload of Minis suffered mild water damage on their journey to the east coast of US. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and commemorations 4 Some of his cars I remember seeing early Civics with trunks and the early VW Dasher had a trunk, in spite of its fastback bodywork. It amounted to no more than surface rust on the chassis. Happy birthday to the Mini - New Atlas Despite its stated mission being to provide basic transport, this level of driving enjoyment, and capability, was like a non stop Christmas present. (I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) 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. The suspension was trailing arms at the front, attached to a steel cross-member, and a swing axle rear, all with rubber springs made of catapult elastic. the outer planets, Uranus and Neptune were not yet discovered, since the telescope had not yet been invented. 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. Moultons hydrolastic suspension as installed on the BMC ADO16 by Issigonis. This strong streak of fierce independence and lack of compromise hid his lateral approach to the design and engineering of cars. I wanted to know the genesis. [3] Whilst he is most famous for his creation of the Mini, he was most proud of his participation in the design of the Morris Minor. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. Another Mini!). [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 Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. 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 . Towards the end of WW2, he began work on the Mosquito project, which ended up being launched in 1948 as the Morris Minor. Alec Issigonis is a famous Entrepreneur. Chinese Zodiac: Alec Issigonis was born in the Year of the Rabbit. [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. To clarify, the Renault 4, 5 (first generation, Le Car), 6 and 16 all had longitudinally mounted engines. Issigonis (just in view at the far right) was not involved in the engineering of this car, but was able to start a long term friendship with Battista and Sergio Pininfarina,seenstanding next the car with Leonard Lord and George Harriman. He also had plans for a flat four cylinder engine, and at frequentlychallenged convention and Morris Motors conservatism. And his father, a Greek by origin and British by nationality, had inherited a marine engine construction company, an activity that fascinated little Alec. 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. Designer Alec Issigonis was born in the southern Anatolian city of Smyrna in 1906. Issigonis - Hero or Villain? | ViaRETRO 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. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. BMC . Maybe because theyd lost the Issigonis chassis manners? 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. Issigonis grandfather, Demosthenis Issigonis, had emigrated from Paros in Greece to Smyrna (as Izmir was then known) in the mid 19th century where his engineering company helped the British built the Smyrna-Aydn Railway, and through this acquired British citizenship. My doodles and sketches are not the work of an academic engineer. Alec Issigoniss birth sign is Scorpio and he had a ruling planet of Pluto. Once more details are available, we will update this section. 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. Back the early 2,000 B.C. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis - Academia.edu I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. By 1945, a full scale static prototype close to the familiar production form was completed. During the war, Morris Motors undertook military work, notably the development of the Morris lightweight reconnaissance vehicle for the War Department. No wonder Issigonis felt flattered I feel very, very proud that so many people have copied me.. 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. Alec Issigonis - Wikipedie He was born on November 18, 1906 and his birthplace is Turkey. He failed his degree course but gained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, at the third attempt, in 1928. Most events entered were sprints, but he also raced at circuits. He did not want more conventional answers, without at least exploring some technical advances. People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. 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. Alec's mother, Hulda Prokopp, could trace her origins back to Wrttemberg (now part of Germany). Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: , )CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. Mini: a brief history - The Telegraph 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. 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. Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. Generation. 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. 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. 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. As such he was of the generation who experienced the privations of two apocalyptic world wars. 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. Sir Alec Issigonis | Autopedia | Fandom Issigonis (standing) with the special at Shelsey Walsh hillclimb. Morris 1100. Thank you very much for a wonderful biography. Rover used the freewheel extensively, on cars and Land Rovers, into the 1960s. Issigonis returned to BMC to design a range of family vehicles. (first posted 10/24/2016) Alec Issigonis, along with Sir Henry Royce and perhaps Colin Chapman, has the greatest name recognition in the UK for any British car designer or engineer. Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 - Solar Navigator That's exactly what he did. 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. BLMC says, Archive : Lord Stokes writes to Alec Issigonis, Archive : How Harry Webster is going to shape your car, Archive : The Thoughts of Chairman Stokes, Archive : Issigonis The Giant Who Thought Small, Archive : Creative role for Issigonis in BMC board switch, Archive : Mr Issigonis looks to the future, Archive : Interview Motor meets Alec Issigonis, The cars : Alfa Romeo Alfasud development story, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, Essay : Austin Maestro styling the real killer, Concepts and prototypes : LM10 and LM11 facelifts, Archive : Coventry Council Debates Rover Crisis, News : PSA confirms continued van production in Luton. 1959: The Mini Was Born. | MINI.com Alec Issigonis: The Man Who Made the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, 81; Designer of Minicar And Morris Minor. Sir Alec Issigonis celebrates one of the many milestones of the Mini dynasty. The lower picture is is an early (1958) Issigonis drawing of his vision for the Mini. Issigonis became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1967 and was knighted in 1969. Sir Alecs design which we built won the design centre award. 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. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industrys great independent thinkers. [17], Learn how and when to remove this template message, 1938 Issigonis Lightweight Special at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, "The creator of an iconic car: Alec Issigonis", "The Genuine MOKE | Steer clear of imitations | Story", "Pre de l'Austin "Mini" Alec Issigonis est mort", "Review of 'The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900 (2nd edition)', "Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis. The suspension was also of advanced design, with trailing arm front suspension attached to a steel cross-member, and swing axle rear, all with rubber springs made of catapult elastic. The Mini quickly became cult and had enthusiastic fans worldwide. I was amazed at the amount of space in that car you could even hide things in the cubbyhole under the rear seat. Heynes later became Technical Director at Jaguar and was a personal friend of Issigonis for many years. We will continue to update information on Alec Issigoniss parents. Issigonis with XC/9001, the car that became the Landcrab. German Engineer Who Designed And Built The First Practical Automobile If it was front engined, was it to be rear wheel or front wheel drive? Omissions? Building 9400 Oxford Business Park North Alec Issigonis Way Oxford OX4 2HN In 1928 his first job was in the design office of Gillett, an engineering firm in London. Issigonis spent his early years as an engineer with Morris Motors working on steering and suspension. His family had to flee Smyrne to es- cape the genocide of 1922 by the Turks. 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. The war prevented this design from going into production but it was later used on the MG Y-type. 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.
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