alec issigonis family

[citation needed], Issigonis was nicknamed "the Greek god" by his contemporaries. He then moved on to Alvis, where he worked on the development of a luxury saloon, but the project had to be discontinued for cost reasons. 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. I fist saw a Mini on my way to middle school in 1965. Many did not even make it through the warranty period without the transmission self-destructing. Alec Issigonis | Bartleby The end of the agreement came in 1986, when Issigonis wrote directly to Graham Day, BLs then new Chairman. Stooping just under six feet in height, he looms large at any [], By GEOFFREY CHARLES, Motoring Correspondent A high-level reshuffle of BMC directors areas of responsibility was announced yesterday as part of a streamlining process before completion of the BMH-Leyland merger. He left Morris in 1952 for Alvis just as BMC was created from Austin and Morris (as well as Riley, Wolseley and MG).. In 1934 Issigonis was invited to join the drawing office at Humber Ltd in Coventry. Alec Issigonis Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography . Alec Issigonis - Wikipedia Bahasa Melayu, ensiklopedia bebas 1959: The Mini Was Born. | MINI.com 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. During 1956 Issigonis concentrated on the larger two cars, producing several prototypes for testing. Alec completed his education at an English boarding school, and in 1925, took a two month tour, by car, of Europe with his mother before returning to take a place at Battersea Polytechnic in south London, to study mechanical engineering. A deeply flawed genius at best. Another thing Sir Alec did not think was important perhaps? The image his cars achieved for BMC was arguably a factor in the survival of the company in the market place, and BMC used his personality extensively in advertising whichyou can imagine Issigonis publicly hating but privately loving. He and Frank Stephenson are both famous car designers. I was amazed at the amount of space in that car you could even hide things in the cubbyhole under the rear seat. 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 . Shunning all offers of silver service with the management. He attended London's Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. Alec Issigonis | Automotive Hall of Fame He was popular for being a Entrepreneur. 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. 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. 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. Constantine married a German lady whose name was Hulda Prokopp and in 1906 they had a baby who they named Alexander Arnold Issigonis, or Alec to his family. The son of a Greek merchant, Issigonis immigrated to London in 1922 during the war between Greece and Turkey. 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. Sticks in my mind I read a road test that put engine speed at 60 around 4,000rpm. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. As a Morris Minor owner I appreciated it . Issigonis studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. Issigonis legacy - Education 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. But his true interest was in the 9X and its power unit, and getting a version of it accepted by BL. After returning to England in 1922, he enrolled in engineering school, failing mathematics at every turn. Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the automotive industry's great independent thinkers. He still worked to his consultancy agreement but did so almost exclusively from home, briefing and debriefing nominated BL engineers each morning. I got to drive his Red mini when I went for fish and chips on a Friday. In 1961, a shipload of Minis suffered mild water damage on their journey to the east coast of US. On 15 October 2006 a rally was held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, England, to celebrate the centenary of Issigonis's birth. I had a book about Issigonis, but its lost. 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. History of MINI - Story, Heritage & Origins | MINI USA When Morris and Austin merged to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952, Issigonis decided to leave the company. 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. 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. 41 Copy quote. He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. 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. . . Issigonis's own automotive career as a designer and engineer in England first took shape during the early 1930s when he began working for the vehicle manufacturer . 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. Rover used the freewheel extensively, on cars and Land Rovers, into the 1960s. Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born into the Greek city of Smyrna (now zmir) in the Ottoman Empire. Manual transmissions seemed to hold up ok,lasting at least as long as the engine. Sir Alec Issigonis celebrates one of the many milestones of the Mini dynasty. Constantine studied in England. As a young man, Constantine was sent to England to study, and he later married Hulda Prokopp, the daughter of a wealthy German brewer in Smyrna. [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). But it was an exciting period, and youve captured his personality and lasting impact well. Even more significantly, it effectively defined the configuration of the small and medium car for the next 50 years. 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. 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. 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. Issigonis who designed the Mini auto Crossword Clue 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. 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. By October 1957, Issigonis had shown Lord a working prototype and the decision had been made to manufacture the car, using the existing BMC A series engine. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Sir Alec Issigonis, in full Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, (born Nov. 18, 1906, Smyrna [now zmir], Tur.died Oct. 2, 1988, Birmingham, Eng. The childhood . Richard Bremneris well-known for being a highly-respected motoring scribe, but in his formative years, he worked in the employ of Austin-Rover. Sixty years ago today . From London to Longbridge: The streets that made Mini 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. He continued to be responsible for his original XC projects. Not something one would anticipate until it is experienced. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: , )CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. 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. Sir Alec Issigonis - Person - National Portrait Gallery Alec Issigonis: straight from a family thrilled by technology. 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. THE CREATOR OF AN ICONIC CAR: ALEC ISSIGONIS. Constantine was very proud of his British citizenship and Alec grew up in a traditional British type of household. 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. We will continue to update information on Alec Issigoniss parents. The car, as developed in a prototype form, showed potential as well as technical ambition the cars unitary construction made it relatively light and strong, it offered 6 seats, had a rear mounted transaxle, including the clutch, inboard rear brakes, long wheelbase configuration so typical of Issigonis and a modern, sophisticated 3.5 litre V8 engine. British car designer best remembered for his work on the development of the iconic Mini. Maybe it takes that sort of single-mindedness, bordering on obsession, to create something different, get it into production in spite of obstacles and naysayers, and make it a success. In October, 1957, just eight months after first putting pen to paper, the first prototypes were on the road. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. 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. In 1922 the family left Turkey for England, as all British people were banished from the country. Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in the Ottoman port city of Smyrna, the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. A series engine, with gearbox beneath and side mounted radiator. The closure of the Suez canal created . To get to this point wasnt easy. Issigonis was a good packaging designer. IAN NICHOLLS recalls the day the two millionth rolled off the production line [], A team of the worlds leading motoring writers, along with voters on the internet, have short-listed the legendary Mini for the ultimate motoring accolade the international Car of the [], THE GUARDIAN Lord Stokes writes about the late Sir Alec Issigonis: Alec Issigonis was a very charming and persuasive person, and a brilliant innovative engineer with a considerable capacity for [], Rover Group consultant Sir Alec Issigonis writes to chairman Graham Day. [4] Alec Issigonis - Etsy Sir Alec Issigonis. Alec Issigonis nasceu na Turquia Filho de um grego naturalizado britnico casado com uma turca. (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. 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. 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! Lords instruction was the one Issigonis had been waiting for, and he quickly developed the first Mini prototype. I thought I knew everything about Issigonis already, but there were some fascinating insights here. A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIFE OF THE MINI FOUNDER. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis . He was knighted in 1969 and was honored by the city of Oxford with a street named after him, Alec Issigonis Way. Plenty of space and comfort in the back, as I recall, but my fathers Rover P6 was much more stylish. Issigonis also devised a compact suspension system made of rubber cones instead of springs to keep the wheel wells from intruding into the passenger compartment. Mr. Front-Wheel Drive: Sir Alec Issigonis - Academia.edu The Minor was, of course, a huge success, for Nuffield and for Issigonis. Harris Mann, having a clean sheet, not giving the Allegro or Princess a hatch in the mid 70s is another matter. In many ways, this car was a clear, but simpler, derivative of the work Issigonis had been doing at Alvis, and Issigonis recruited some former colleagues from Alvis to BMC to develop V6 and V4 engines for the projected BMC cars, possibly using the aborted work at Alvis as a basis. 10 Things Everyone Forgot About Mini And Its Cars His mother was from Bavaria. At the time of his retirement, 71, hatchbacks were not the thing they were 4 years later. Discover what happened on this day. This was the man who persisted in pursuing a gearless car using only a torque converter, who rubbished CAD in favour of slide rules, who did most of his designs in rough and passed them to his acolytes to make real. ), British automobile designer who created the best-selling, economical Mini and the perennially popular Morris Minor. JUMP TO: Alec Issigoniss biography, facts, family, personal life, zodiac, videos and related celebs. He attended Londons Battersea Polytechnic before entering the University of London External Programme. In March 1957 Lord asked (more likely told, as Lord did not do asking) Issigonis to come up with something to compete with them. I saw that same car several times, so, at least in nice weather, it apparently was a daily driver. Back the early 2,000 B.C. He would instead research work on his Mini replacement the 9X with its compact transverse engine. Alec Issigonis Related Authors Vivienne Westwood Quotes Virgil Abloh Quotes Coco Chanel Quotes Carroll Shelby Quotes The gearbox in sump was a dead end in terms of automotive design. Alec Issigonis : The Man Who Made the Mini - books.google.com 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. The first car to repeat the concept of the Mini was the ADO16, which is often considered to be Issigoniss finest hour. 1925 . This page is updated often with fresh details about Alec Issigonis. He was involved in engine design as well, requesting unsuccessfully that BL build 4 and 6 cylinder engines for Mini variants. Alec Issigonis - Wikipedie Biography: Sir Alec Issigonis - Curbside Classic [7] This ground-breaking design, with its front wheel drive, transverse engine, sump gearbox, 10-inch wheels, and phenomenal space efficiency, was still being manufactured in 2000 and has been the inspiration for almost all small front-wheel drive cars produced since the early 1960s. Issigonis designed a unitary construction saloon and the V8 engine, and utilised Moultons latest interconnected rubber suspension. He title at Alvis was Engineer in charge of passenger car design. That's exactly what he did. Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 - 2 October 1988) was a Greek automotive designer. It interested me as I had the honour of working with sir Alec for around 3 months. A family that . Red: Yeah, its mine. 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. * Commander of the British Empire (1964), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1967), Royal Designer for Industry (1964). There was a good reason for BMC selecting him for this task, for Issigonis was born in Izmir. . And the 1800 the rear seat really seemed limousine-like for the size of the car. During this time he started to build a special sprint racer with a friend. This prototype never saw the light of day mores the pity. In 1956, the focus was shifted towards a new economy car and from here, the Mini was born in 1959. Contact - Oxbotica I think you can see a narrower car in one of the pre-production photos, above. 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. Matchbox featured an MG 1100 in its 1-75 line-up for many years. Decades later, despite enormous further developments, the vehicle has lost none of its initial charm. When is Alec Issigoniss birthday? . Sir Alec Issigonis | British automobile designer | Britannica This strong streak of fierce independence and lack of compromise hid his lateral approach to the design and engineering of cars. People born under this sign are seen as warm-hearted and easygoing. " Sir Alec Issigonis. (I can remember seeing Austin Americas just a few years old being offered up for $50.) Copyright 2023. Sir Alec was a combination of everything that was right AND wrong about the British car industry in his day. Day terminated the consultancy agreement, without any more consultation. The [], CARS AND DRIVERS by GEOFFREY CHARLES Whatever the outcome of the BMH-Leyland merger in model rationalization, intensified marketing or expansion-and any joint project will not appear for at least 3 [], MOTOR WHY IS THE ADO16? is bigger, and is just one of a family of related models. You probably know the part about Alec Issigonis being born in the Greek city of Smyrna in 1906, being evacuated to Malta in 1922 following the Turkish invasion, and how he moved to London in 1923 to study engineering. Prior to his death, Alec and his mother travelled overland to London. Giving the Mini, ADO16 and ADO17 were all designed well before hatchbacks were popular, the beancounters no doubt would be up in arms at the thought of spending more money on tooling for an already old design. Enter a Crossword Clue Sort by Length 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. Austin Maxi: Big On The Inside But Not On The Outside, What a great write up Roger. 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 MG 1100 Sport Sedan a perfect choice when a two-seater MG is too small. Biography: Sir ALEC issigonis - The designer of Britain's favourite cars, Britain's favourite car designer . . Another Mini!). Issigonis - Hero or Villain? | ViaRETRO 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. 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 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.

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