Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Άρνολντ Κωνσταντίνος Ισηγόνης) CBE FRS RDI (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British and Greek car designer. He created the Mini, introduced by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and it was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century in 1999.

Early life and education

Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 in Smyrna, a city in the Ottoman Empire. He was the only child of Constantine Issigonis and Hulda Prokopp. Constantine’s father, Demosthenis, moved to Smyrna from the Greek island of Paros in the 1830s. Constantine worked as a successful shipbuilding engineer. Issigonis’s mother came from the Kingdom of Württemberg. Through his mother’s family, Issigonis was related by family to Bernd Pischetsrieder, a director at BMW and Volkswagen.

Because his father became a British citizen while studying engineering in London in 1897, Issigonis and his family were British subjects. In September 1922, the Royal Navy evacuated them to Malta to escape the Great Fire of Smyrna and the Turkish takeover of the city at the end of the Greco-Turkish War. His father died shortly after, and in 1923, Issigonis and his mother moved to the United Kingdom. He studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London. After failing math exams three times, he said math was the least creative subject to study. He then joined the University of London External Programme to finish his education.

Career

Despite political changes, the Issigonis family lived a wealthy and comfortable life. His family supported him so he could race as a hobby. Issigonis worked as an engineer and designer in the motor industry for Humber Limited. He successfully competed in motor racing during the 1930s and 1940s. Around 1930, he raced a supercharged "Ulster" Austin Seven, later adding a front axle he designed, which led to a job at Austin. This heavily modified car was replaced in 1939 with a special model called the Lightweight Special, made of plywood covered in aluminum. The car had advanced suspension, including a front suspension with trailing arms connected to a steel cross-member and a rear suspension with swing axles, all using rubber springs made of catapult elastic. The car weighed 587 pounds, with the engine alone weighing 252 pounds. When the chassis was completed by hand (no power tools were used), Issigonis moved to Morris Motors Limited, but Austin provided a special engine for the car. He often won races, even in the 1100cc class when no 750cc category was available. Most races were sprints, though he also competed on circuits.

In 1936, Issigonis was offered a job as a suspension designer at a major motor manufacturer. Morris Motors was located in Cowley near Oxford. He worked on an independent front suspension system for the Morris 10. A war prevented this design from being produced, but it was later used on the MG Y-type. He worked on other projects for Morris during the war. As the war ended, he began designing an advanced postwar car called Mosquito, which became the Morris Minor. This car was produced from 1948 until 1971.

In 1952, when the British Motor Corporation (BMC) was formed by merging Morris and Austin, Issigonis joined Alvis Cars. There, he designed a car with an all-aluminum V-8 engine and tested interconnected independent suspension systems. This prototype was never made because it was too expensive for Alvis.

By the end of 1955, Issigonis was hired back by BMC to work at the Austin plant in Longbridge, under chairman Sir Leonard Lord. He was tasked with designing a new family of three cars. These cars were given experimental codes: XC/9001 for a large car, XC/9002 for a medium car, and XC/9003 for a small car. In 1956, he focused on the two larger models, creating prototypes for testing.

However, in late 1956, due to fuel shortages caused by the Suez Crisis, Lord ordered Issigonis to prioritize the smaller car, XC/9003. By early 1957, prototypes were completed, and by mid-1957, the project received an official drawing number (ADO15) for production. In August 1959, the car was launched as the Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Seven, later known as the Austin Mini. Due to time constraints, the interconnected suspension system Issigonis had planned was replaced with a simpler rubber cone system designed by Alex Moulton. The Mini became the best-selling British car in history, with over 5.3 million units produced. BMC and Issigonis received the Dewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) for the Mini’s innovative design. The car’s features, including front-wheel drive, a transverse engine, a sump gearbox, 10-inch wheels, and efficient space use, remained in production until 2000 and influenced many small front-wheel-drive cars made after the 1960s.

In 1961, as the Mini gained popularity, Issigonis was promoted to Technical Director of BMC. He continued overseeing his original XC projects. XC/9002 became ADO16 and was launched as the Morris 1100 in August 1962 with Hydrolastic suspension. XC/9001 became ADO17 and was launched as the Austin 1800 in October 1964, also using Hydrolastic suspension. The same system was later used in the Austin Maxi. By this time, Issigonis became more aware of the costs of car production and warranty expenses, which were harming BMC. He focused on developing a replacement for the Mini, the 9X, with a compact transverse engine. He also oversaw the creation of the Mini Moke, originally designed for military use, which later became popular.

With the formation of British Leyland in 1969, new chairman Lord Stokes removed Issigonis from key roles, reassigning him to "Special Developments Director" and replacing him with Harry Webster as Technical Director for small and medium cars. Stokes reportedly said, "We'll sort this bloke Issigonis out!"

Issigonis was nicknamed "the Greek god" by colleagues. Though best known for the Mini, he was most proud of his work on the Morris Minor, which he believed combined luxury with affordability for working-class people. He also considered the Austin 1800 (ADO17) his most successful design, despite its limited commercial success.

Issigonis officially retired from the motor industry in 1971. He continued working until shortly before his death in 1988 at his home in Edgbaston, Birmingham. He was cremated at Lodge Hill Cemetery in nearby Selly Oak.

Legacy

On October 15, 2006, an event was held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, England, to mark the 100th anniversary of Alec Issigonis's birth.

There is a road called "Alec Issigonis Way" in the Oxford Business Park, located on the land where the Morris Motors factory once operated in Cowley, Oxfordshire.

Honours

In 1964, Issigonis was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) as part of the Birthday Honours.

In the same year, 1964, he was named a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI).

In 1967, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).

In 1969, he was given the title of Knight Bachelor during the Birthday Honours. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on July 22, 1969.

In 2003, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in the United States.

A car called the Weeny Issi, based on the Mini, appeared in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V. It was named after him.

Some of his cars

List of Vehicles
• 1948 Morris Minor
• 1948 Morris Oxford MO
• 1959 Mini
• 1962 BMC ADO16
• 1964 BMC ADO17
• 1969 Austin Maxi