Two Morris Minors parked side-by-side. One is tan, the other is…

2 5pm unsenvm, JUNE 2i, 201g VIOTORING neighhuunv co n1 .Vlorris Minor celebrates its 7 0th birthday IMIEN ounnou was one ofBrilai units-t ipiilor mist it was designed by r Alec lssigonis and it wasnt e Mini And it is also 70 years d this year. it is, olcourse, the Morris inor and it made its world lbutal the Earl's Court motor tow in mndon on the 20th of member 1545 Th needs for the development the viirior were sown in mi hon despite a wartime lion on when our production, Morris otm ' VlKP chairman, Miles iomas decided that the mpany needed to start aiming fonts first car sitter the ar was over A promising young spension engineer named Alec sigonis had attract/ed Morris' lefengmeers attention with s innovative ideas, so was iught on board the small secret ujecte code named Mosquilo ind was largely entirely spunsiole {or the design Issigoms' briefwas to design Jl'acliml, economical and oniable car tor the general lbIJC that would equal, itnot inasst the convenience and sign quality are more pensive car, and what he oposed was pretty radical for e time, including independent rite iirst geneution Morris Mlnov MM was punt meet. i943 and 1953. with more than quamr of o miiiion helm made. suspension, rack and pinion steering and unibody constructibn He also proposed a mdieal engine a waterwoied hot-imntailyopposed [our- cylintier that lsstgunis favoured because its Shorter overall length would mean more cabin space something (hat he was obsessed with. While the engine would end up being a tilt too radical for Morris, and the rear independent suspension would be replaced by a conventional leafsprung set up, the rest of lssigonis ideas were implemented and in 1913 the Minor was unleashed on the world only a twordml saloon or tourer were offered initially at a cost arm (roughly equivalent to Nzxzsmto today) 7 whiieii {our-door version was added in 1550. it would gu on to Iieoomo the rst Britt car to sell more (him 1 million uns (around Ls million wem eventually built) and would be nude until 1912