Story and photos by Graham Gauld and Jonathan Sharp
‘Wunderkind’ Adrian Newey and his first production hypercar, the Aston Martin-RB001, are making headlines. But Newey is following in the footsteps of another great designer, Gordon Murray, who set the modern pattern, so to speak, with the original McLaren road car.
But long before them was another wunderkind. Before he became famous as the designer of the ubiquitous BMC Minis, their equally ground breaking designer Alec Issigonis built his own advanced race car, the Lightweight Special.
Issigonis was born in 1906 in Turkey, moved to Malta and finally, when his father died, to London with his mother when he was in his late 20s. After a brief spell with the SU carburetor company, he moved to Morris Motors where he was to stay and create various iconic cars such as the Morris Minor and then his piece-de-resistance, the Mini.
Issigonis and fellow engineer George Dowson decided to build a race car, not by picking up a collection of production bits and pieces from other manufacturers – save its engine – but virtually designing and building all the parts by hand which took something like six years and it did not seriously turn a wheel until 1939.
What made his car different was that it had a form of monocoque chassis using aluminum sheeting over plywood, supported on steel cross-members. The engine came from a 750cc Austin Seven Ulster that the noted tuner of the period, Murray Jamieson. had supercharged: it was the same supercharged engine that powered Austin’s own single seaters. Even the suspension was interesting with double wishbones and rubber in compression at the front and tension at the rear, then totally streamlined in aluminum as was the bodywork and rear suspension. The entire ensemble weighed in at 587 lbs. (266 kilos)
It had a few outings before WWII started in September 1939, but post-war the Lightweight re-appeared and was driven mainly in hill climbs by Issigonis and Dowson. However, using his experience working with the Morris Car Company, the engine built around 1946 was an experimental Morris engine that, again, was supercharged and the one seen here in this photo taken in 1960. The engine was heavier than the original Austin engine but the power output was now 95 bhp which was impressive from a supercharged 748cc engine.
Issigonis was busy creating a whole new post-war range of Morris cars including the Morris Minor. After various mergers the British Motor Corporation emerged and Issigonis was to produce his front-wheel drive Morris Mini Minor in 1959 – a model also badged as the Austin Seven to be sold through the Austin dealer network. His inventive mind and friendship with other designers led to the introduction of the hydrolastic suspension with the Austin/Morris 1100 range.
Not everything was successful, but Alec Issigonis was to prove that even late in life he could start out with an unconventional racing car and turn his ideas into iconic road cars.
Issigonis died in 1988 at the age of 82 but his Lightweight Special lives on, now owned by English enthusiast Iain Cheyne who follows tradition and runs it at hill climbs to this day.
Frank T says
Fantastic, never knew there was a Chapman philosophy before Colin came along
John Shea says
MB clearly was smitten by the frontal design.