Alec Issigonis

Alec Issigonis was a British-Greek automotive designer and engineer who created some of the most influential and popular cars of the 20th century. He was born in Smyrna, in the Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey), in 1906, to a Greek father and a German mother. He moved to England with his mother in 1923, after his father died and the Greco-Turkish War forced them to leave their homeland. He studied engineering at Battersea Polytechnic in London, but failed his mathematics exams three times. He decided to enter the University of London External Programme to complete his university education. He started his career in the motor industry as an engineer and designer working for Humber, and later for Morris Motors. He also competed in motor racing, driving a modified Austin Seven. He designed the Morris Minor, which was launched in 1948 and became one of the best-selling British cars of all time. He also worked on the development of a luxury saloon for Alvis, but the project was cancelled due to cost reasons. In 1955, he returned to the British Motor Corporation, where he was given the task of designing a small, economical, and spacious car that could compete with the German bubble cars. He came up with the Mini, which was launched in 1959 and revolutionized the automotive industry with its innovative front-wheel drive, transverse engine, and compact dimensions. The Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, after the Ford Model T, and became a cultural icon of the 1960s. Issigonis also designed other models for BMC, such as the Austin 1100, the Austin 1800, and the Austin Maxi, but none of them matched the success of the Mini. He was knighted in 1969 for his services to the motor industry, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977. He continued working until shortly before his death in 1988, at his house in Edgbaston, Birmingham. He never married or had children, and was known for his eccentric and stubborn personality. He was a passionate smoker, a lover of classical music, and a collector of books and paintings. He once said, "The public don't know what they want; it's my job to tell them." He is widely regarded as one of the greatest car designers of all time, and his legacy lives on in the millions of cars he created and inspired.