alec issigonis family

The Mini went on to become the best selling British car in history with a production run of 5.3million cars. Kereta rekaannya, BMC Mini dilancarkan dalam tahun 1959. Alec Issigonis - Bio, Personal Life, Family & Cause Of Death - CelebsAges The Lightweight Special - TNF's Archive - The Autosport Forums BMCs Great Leap Forward was a bold move, unfortunately marred by the inability to check Issigonis tendencies that often put the buyer last instead of first. 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. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. I had a book about Issigonis, but its lost. Issigoniss legacy is undoubtedly best seen through his cars, from the Minor to the Maxi, which challenged conventions through engineering ingenuity. Addresses | OxfordBiomedica Unfortunately the ADO16 did not do well in the U.S. as the Austin America, which was imported here in an attempt to eat some of VWs lunch in the late 1960s. So Sir Alec Issigonis had an impact on my life. The 1100 and later 1300 outsold the Mini by a considerable margin and remained Britains best-selling car right through the 1960s. An engineering genius and godfather of of the Mini. Family Life His father died in 1922, at which point he and his mother moved to the U.K.. Associated With He and Frank Stephenson are both famous car designers. Decades later, despite enormous further developments, the vehicle has lost none of its initial charm. While much derided for its lack of style, I do love the huge smile he put on the front of the original 1800 Landcrab. And a rally demon was born. In 1961, a shipload of Minis suffered mild water damage on their journey to the east coast of US. 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. Alec Issigonis was a hugely . Shortly after in 1962, when gender roles were thought to be defined, one woman chose a life of speed. Issigonis planned two versions, known as the TA/350 with a 3.5 litre V8 and TA/175 with a 1750cc, V4 engine. Alec Issigonis was a Greek-British automobile engineer and designer, best known for designing the Mini, a compact car that became a cultural icon in Britain and other countries. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. When we stopped sending children up chimneys we reemployed them to work or minis. The Mini was designed by. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . Subsequently my main triumph of design is a carbon block conveyor that fit into an oddly shaped spot while using less pieces of steel than its predecessor. In August 1971, Issigonis drove the 2 millionth ADO16 off the line, as the same time as a Mini Clubman, which was the 5 millionth front wheel drive BMC car, came off the line in the next building. 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 liked them ever since. Noch ein Mini (A Mini! 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. One tidbit I recall: when the Morris Minor design was almost finished the book showed the designer holding a brass model of the car it was decided to add a few inches of width at the centerline. I dont have any great memories of the Mini to share, though you saw them everywhere. Cylcops center guage; magic wand shift-lever; and bus-sized steering wheel. Alec Issigoniss birth sign is Scorpio and he had a ruling planet of Pluto. Sir Alec Issigonis celebrates one of the many milestones of the Mini dynasty. Alec Issigonis. A very enjoyable read on a man whose name I knew in conjunction with so many brilliant designs, but who I previously knew little about. 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. Moulton also designed folding, rubber suspended small-wheeled bicycles. Zodiac Sign: Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio. Alec Issigonis was a Scorpio and was born in the G.I. John Sheppard spent 20 years working with [], Richard Aucock 40 years ago this month, Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of Britains best-selling motoring icons, retired The creator of the original Mini, the Morris Minor, the Austin Maxi and [], Motor magazine, August 1962 WHY IS THE ADO16? [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. Alec Issigonis - the genius behind the Mini and the Morris Minor - AROnline 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. . Sketch by the late Sir Alec Issigonis, of the original Morris Minor, circa 1946. It was designed to follow on from the Mini and 1100 as the next generation . 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. 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. In 1961, he became Technical and oversaw the launch of the 1100, 1800 and Maxi all hugely advanced machines, with front-wheel drive, in-sump gearboxes, and interconnected suspension. At this time, he was working for Maurice Olley. 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. XC/9002 became ADO16 and was launched as the Morris 1100 with the Hydrolastic interconnected suspension system in August 1962. 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. Great summary of a giant of industrial design. He excelled in mechanical drawing, but failed his mathematics exams three times. They paid him to design a tractor safety cab after their own designers had 3 attempts and we built 3 failures. 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. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. 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. 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. Issigonis had some success at club racing level and in 1935 travelled with his lifelong friend George Dowson to the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. His mother was from Bavaria. Therefore some functionality is missing. Our tool for managing your permission to our use of cookies is temporarily offline. Thanks for this terrific bio on one of the all-time greats in the field. Styled by Pininfarina, it was launched as the Morris 1100 in 1962, and a year later as the Austin 1100, and the clean, classical lines of the car served BMC well. Issigonis was giving punters what they needed, rather than what they wanted. Bedtime story - Alec Issigonis - Enthusiasts of British Motor 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. There he developed the Morris Minor, which remained in production from 1948 to 1971. [5]:277. At some point in the mid-60s they ran an After the New Wears Off feature by an MG 1100 owner in Los Angeles. This post and its visuals and videos explains this pivotal vector of the international industry with such clarity and depth. As you know I was away when the little ceremony took place to mark your retirement and I have, of [], Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the Mini, among other cars, is to remain design consultant with British Leyland after he goes into semi-retirement at the end of the month. Sir Alec Constantine Issigonis, born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire on November 18, 1906, is famous for designing the beloved Mini Cooper motor car. Fascinating piece and what a character! The Mini was launched in 1959, and became instantly popular. Copyright 2011 - 2023 Curbside Classics. Not something one would anticipate until it is experienced. At the end of 1955, Issigonis was recruited back into BMC, this time into the Austin plant at Longbridge, by its chairman Sir Leonard Lord, to design a new model family of three cars. And I myself have engineered a few things with the help of Jack Daniels . But it was an exciting period, and youve captured his personality and lasting impact well. 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. Below are all possible answers to this clue ordered by its rank. Sir Alec Constantine Issigonis: The Greek who designed the legendary Your article sure did him justice; thank you, Roger. He was also responsible for the development of the Mini Moke, initially intended for military use, though it subsequently became another popular icon of British automotive engineering that, like the Mini, attained cult status. He was retired from British Leyland in 1971, memorably being given a Meccano kit for his leaving present. 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. He was impossible to work with, had Henry Fords arrogance and nearly bankrupted the company like Ford, by refusing to listen to anyone. People over the road from us had a Wolseley Six (top of the range Landcrab) when we were kids. ADO15, 16 & 17 (36792752942).jpg 1 712 1 936; 589 KB The war prevented this design from going into production but it was later used on the MG Y-type. There was no radio fitted as he thought it would distract the driver. It really showed up typical RWD cars of the time as being great space-wasters. . 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. His father, however, did not survive the crossing. 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. Roger, are you saying that Graham Day ended the consultancy and goodwill payments because he was offended by Issigoniss letter? 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. Category:Alec Issigonis - Wikimedia Commons Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: , )CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. 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. [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. [11], Issigonis was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1964 Birthday Honours. 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 . (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. Alec Issigonis The public don't know what they want; it's my job to tell them. 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. Although primarily a station car, my parents also took it on a vacation through New England. Look what happened to Alan Turing. He would attend the usual motor shows, but often would refuse to look in detail at the competition, so he did not become confused. 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. 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. : Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis , CBE, FRS, RDI 19061118-1988102 . Diz lenda que ele considerava a rigidez . Updates? Alec Issigonis Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography . The mini leaked like a sieve because of the way hed designed the sills and had to be redesigned. Issigonis designed a unitary construction saloon and the V8 engine, and utilised Moultons latest interconnected rubber suspension. His mother was from Bavaria. I remember seeing early Civics with trunks and the early VW Dasher had a trunk, in spite of its fastback bodywork. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. This was partly because of the cost but also because in 1953 Ford bought Briggs UK operations and 1954 BMC bought Fisher & Ludlow. From London to Longbridge: The streets that made Mini Everyman Classics: Mid-Century Visionary 1 : Alec Issigonis Issigonis 'response was dry and forceful:'I'm an engineer. 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. Alec Issigonis : The Man Who Made the Mini - books.google.com The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. When I was in grade school in the mid-70s, the next door neighbor of my best friend had 6 Minis. Alec Issigonis: The Man Who Made the Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, 81; Designer of Minicar And Morris Minor. I hardly ever drove a Mini or an 1100, but many miles of driving a Landcrab made me understand why it was so very good, in spite of some engineering shortcuts. Not sure how true it is, but I read somewhere that he even designed the ashtrays for the Minor. I was amazed at the amount of space in that car you could even hide things in the cubbyhole under the rear seat. - Wikipedia It didnt just raise the bar it kicked it into next week ! ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. Yes, it ran like hell when operable as the owner treated it like an Army Jeep. The problem was that I would never have initially chosen to drive one. Issigonis would later state that pure mathematics (is) the enemy of every truly creative man. He began his engineering career at Morris Motors Ltd. in 1936 as a steering and suspension engineer. The initials "G.I." Oxbotica Toronto Office. But there were other 20th century cataclysms that he lived and worked through as a designer - including the Suez crisis of 1956. Alec Issigonis Net Worth, Age, Bio, Birthday, Height, Facts Alec Issigonis was already known for his popular and respected Morris Minor. The Mini remains one of the most important motoring icons of the 1960s, so it's only natural that the band would want a piece of the action as Beatles mania took hold. . I thought I knew everything about Issigonis already, but there were some fascinating insights here. I got to drive his Red mini when I went for fish and chips on a Friday. 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 . [email protected] +44 (0)1865 433 998. Back in 1980 a friends father of mine who was a MP sergeant owned a then new Mini Cooper 1275 cc. I dont remember Dad as being what youd call a sporting driver, but he never considered the later Austin-based Oxfords. Sir Alec Issigonis 1906 - 1988 - Solar Navigator 104 Alec Issigonis Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 104 Alec Issigonis Premium High Res Photos Browse 104 alec issigonis stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 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. It was, though, used on the postwar MG Y Type saloons. It was more like a Lancia or a rear drive Citroen than a Rover or a Sunbeam-Talbot. 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. I was mesmerized and I saw my schoolmate being dropped off by his older brother who was on his way to high school. This would have been in the early 70s when they were literally everywhere. Happy birthday to the Mini! [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). Indeed gay sex was illegal in the UK until 1968 and for many years after prejudice was rife. Noch ein Mini! He attended Londons Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. 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. Comprehensive article. The big steering wheels angle was a bit bus-like though. He title at Alvis was Engineer in charge of passenger car design. Happy birthday to the Mini - New Atlas Issigonis was knighted in 1968, 1955 Morris Minor: Britains Favorite Car Bar None, And Rightly So, Austin Seven (Mini): The Future Started Here. The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "an alec issigonis family car launched in 1969 (6,4)", 10 letters crossword clue. Issigonis made a grandfather clock from it, which kept good time. Issigonis, The Mini Mastermind - On This Day He also worked with Alvis Cars, one of the more obscure carmakers. 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. This undated sketch by Issigonis shows some of this. 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. Nkter data mohou pochzet z datov poloky. It was apparent to Morriss senior managers that Issigonis was cut from a different cloth compared to his contemporaries. Alec Issigonis was born in Turkey. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. This led to a job at Austin, but in 1936, he moved to Morris at Cowley, where he worked on the Morris 10. An image from the 1964 Racing Car Show in the aftermath of the Mini's first Monte Carlo Rally win. But, as ever, events intervened in this case the Suez Crisis of 1956, complete with petrol rationing. 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. Humber was the upscale brand of the Rootes Group, but also the name of the main car building company in the Group. The original plan called for a large family car by 1960, to be followed by a smaller car and then a city car. 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. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. By the mid 1950s, as Europe got back on its feet after the war, there had been many attempts to define the modern car, but none was proving to be dominantly successful. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 - 2 October 1988) was a Greek automotive designer. The family is almost penniless. Issigonis and his team produced a revolutionary car that featured a small exterior with a spacious passenger compartment and outstanding handling characteristics. BMC made cuts of 6,000 in the labour force almost overnight and without consultation, whilst Lord noted the sales of the imported European bubble cars. Having been a passenger in an early Austin Landcrab on several occasions I can confirm they are amazingly spacious inside, front and rear. 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 . 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 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 BMC . Alec issigonis hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy Issigonis's mother, Hulda Prokopp, was descended from a Bavarian brewing family who had settled in Smyrna, and established a brewery. (I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis - Academia.edu Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the Greek community of Smyrnain Ottoman Turkey. 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. As such he was of the generation who experienced the privations of two apocalyptic world wars. Alec Issigonis was born on the 18th of November, 1906. Issigonis legacy - Education [], 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. The above photo is a publicity shot with the first produced Mini, at his retirement in 1972. 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! Twitter; Learn how your comment data is processed. The childhood . 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 . This car basically took the Mini concept and enlarged it by 20%, adding some experience, and ambition, at the same time. 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. 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. Later, he was working on an independent suspension for the larger Humber Hawk, with another rising star in the industry, Bill Heynes. . Issigonis went into the motor industry as an engineer and designer working for Humber and competed successfully in motor racing during the 1930s and 1940s. Sir Alex Arnold Constantine Issigonis (1906-1988) - Find a Grave He became the engineering director of the British Motor Corporation in 1964, and was . 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. (The Maxi, by comparison, was a bland lump.). He continued to be responsible for his original XC projects. A truly fascinating man he was. 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. Humber were more interested in the sales engineer than his product, and Issigonis moved to Humber in 1933. Sticks in my mind I read a road test that put engine speed at 60 around 4,000rpm. 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 did get Hydrolastic eventually, then lose it again. Stokes was heard on his appointment to say: "We'll sharp sort this bloke Issigonis out!".

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