Sir Alec Issigonis

1906-1988

Sir Alec Issigonis was one of the most influential engineers of the 20th century. He also designed the Morris Minor as affordable transport in the post-war era, then he set the template for future small cars with the BMC Mini. He followed that up with the Austin 1100, 1800 and Maxi, all very advanced for their time. Outside office hours, he also made an extremely competitive hillclimb car called the Lightweight Special with a monocoque and all-round independent suspension.