Editing Morris Minor (section)

==Development==

===Origins===
The Minor was conceived in 1941. Although the [[Nuffield Organization]] was heavily involved in [[World War II|war work]] and a governmental ban existed on civilian car production, Morris Motors' vice chairman, [[Miles Thomas]], wanted to prepare the ground for new products to be launched as soon as the war was over.<ref name="issigonis">{{Cite book| last=Bardsley | first=Gillian | title=Issigonis: The Official Biography | publisher= Icon Books | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-1-84046-687-4}}</ref>{{rp|115}} Vic Oak, the company's chief engineer, had already brought to Thomas' attention a promising junior engineer, [[Alec Issigonis]], who had been employed at Morris since 1935 and specialised in [[suspension (vehicle)|suspension]] design,<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|85}} but he had frequently impressed Oak with his advanced ideas about car design in general.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|114}} Issigonis had come to Oak's particular attention with his work on the new [[Morris Ten#Morris Ten series M|Morris Ten]], which was in development during 1936/7. This was the first Morris to use [[Unibody|unitary construction]] and was conceived with [[Independent suspension|independent front suspension]]. Issigonis designed a coil-sprung wishbone system, which was later dropped on cost grounds. Although the design was later used on the [[MG Y-type]] and many other postwar [[MG Cars|MGs]], the Morris Ten entered production with a front [[beam axle]]. Despite his brief being to focus on the Ten's suspension, Issigonis had also drawn up a [[rack and pinion steering]] system for the car. Like his suspension design, this was not adopted, but resurfaced in the postwar years on the MG Y-type. These ideas showed that he was the perfect candidate to lead the design work on a new advanced small car.

With virtually all resources required for the war effort, Thomas nonetheless approved the development of a new small family car that would replace the [[Morris Eight]]. Although Oak (and Morris's technical director, Sidney Smith) were in overall charge of the project, Issigonis was ultimately responsible for the design, working with only two other [[Drafter|draughtsmen]]: [[William Daniels (automotive engineer)|(William)Jack Daniels]].<ref name="minorbio">{{Cite book| last=Wainwright | first=Martin | title=Morris Minor: The Biography | publisher= Aurum | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1-84513-509-6}}</ref>{{rp|60}}<ref name="Indy">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jack-daniels-673140.html The Independent, 2 Dec 2004, Obituary. Jack Daniels. Draughtsman to Issigonis on the Mini]</ref>
<ref name="TheGuardian">[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2004/dec/15/carindustry.science The Guardian, 15 December 2004, Obituary. Jack Daniels, He realised the vision of Alec Issigonis for the Morris Minor and Mini]</ref> Thomas named the project 'Mosquito' and ensured that it remained as secret as possible,<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|117}} both from the [[Ministry of Supply]] and from company founder William Morris ([[William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield|Lord Nuffield]]), who was still chairman of Morris Motors, and as widely expected, would not look favourably on Issigonis' radical ideas.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|63}}

Issigonis' overall concept was to produce a practical, economical, and affordable car for the general public that would equal, or even surpass, the convenience and design quality of a more expensive car. In later years he summed up his approach to the Minor; that he wanted to design an [[economy car]] that "the average man would take pleasure in owning, rather than feeling of it as something he'd been sentenced to" and "people who drive small cars are the same size as those who drive large cars and they should not be expected to put up with claustrophobic interiors."<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|121}} Issigonis wanted the car to be as spacious as possible for its size, and comfortable to drive for inexperienced motorists. Just as he would with the [[Mini]] 10 years later, he designed the Mosquito with excellent [[automobile handling|roadholding]] and accurate, quick steering, not with any pretence of making a [[sports car]], but to make it safe and easy to drive by everyone.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|302}}

===Original design features===
Issigonis' design included the same ideas he had proposed for the Ten before the war:<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|121}} [[independent suspension]], [[rack and pinion steering]], and [[Unibody|unitary construction]]. In the case of the Mosquito, Issigonis was inspired by the [[Citroën Traction Avant]],<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|121}} a car he greatly admired, and he proposed using [[torsion bar suspension|torsion bars]] on each wheel, as on the Citroën, rather than the usual [[coil spring]] system. The French car, launched in 1934, had also been an early example of the use of rack and pinion steering.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|61}}

Nearly every feature of the Minor served the joint aims of good handling and maximum interior space. For example, Issigonis specified {{convert|14|in|adj=on}} wheels for the Mosquito, with 5.20-14 Dunlop Crossply tyres, (145R14 is the radial alternative). These were smaller than any other production car of the time (the existing Morris Eight had {{convert|17|in|adj=on}} wheels).<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|121}} These small wheels reduced intrusion into the cabin space and minimised the car's [[unsprung mass]], giving better ride comfort and stability. For the same reasons, the wheels themselves were placed as far as possible towards each corner of the Mosquito's floorpan. The same went for the placement of the engine, as far as possible towards the front of the engine compartment.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|95}} Most cars of the time had a front beam axle, which forced the engine to be mounted behind the front axle line. While this meant that, with only a driver on board, the weight distribution was fairly even, when laden with passengers, cars often became severely tail-heavy, leading to unstable handling and [[understeer and oversteer|oversteer]]. The new Morris's independent suspension meant there was no front axle, allowing the engine to be placed low down and far forward. Putting the Mosquito's engine in the nose meant that the car was nose-heavy when lightly laden, leading to superior directional stability, and when fully laden it achieved nearly equal weight balance, so handling and grip remained good regardless of the load carried.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|62}} Placing the engine further forward also maximised cabin space.

As proposed by Issigonis, the engine itself was also radical, being a water-cooled [[flat-four engine|flat-four]] unit. One of Miles Thomas's few restrictions on the Mosquito project was that it had to have an engine that would not fall afoul of the British [[Tax horsepower#Britain|horsepower tax]], which taxed cars under a formula relating to their engine cylinder bore. At the same time, Thomas wanted the car to appeal to the all-important export markets, which had no such restrictions, and generally favoured larger-engined cars. Issigonis' solution was the flat-four engine, which could easily be produced in two versions – a narrow-bore 800-cc version for the British market and a wide-bore 1100-cc version for export.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|123}} Both versions would use identical parts, except for the actual cylinder blocks (which could still be produced on the same machinery) and the pistons. The flat-four layout reduced the overall length of the engine, further increasing potential cabin space, and reduced the car's centre of gravity for improved handling.

===Pre-production changes===
The engine was to prove a step too far for the Mosquito project. As the car approached completion in 1946, the war was over and secrecy was no longer necessary or possible to maintain, as more and more Morris staff and executives had to be involved to start production. Many were pessimistic about the radical car's prospects and especially the huge cost in tooling up for a design that shared no parts with any existing Morris product. Lord Nuffield himself took a strong dislike to both the Mosquito and Issigonis, famously saying that the prototype resembled a poached egg.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|63}} Nuffield preferred to continue production of the conventional Morris Eight, which succeeded very well before the war, with some minor styling and engineering improvements. He particularly objected to the Mosquito's expensive and unconventional engine design. Whatever Nuffield's personal views, all of the Mosquito's radical features were looking increasingly unlikely to be implemented while maintaining an acceptable final purchase price and without incurring too much setup costs at the Cowley factory. Thomas and Vic Oak drew up a plan to create a three-model range of cars using Issigonis' design – the Mosquito with an 800-cc engine, a mid-sized model (tentatively designated the Minor after a previous [[Morris Minor (1928)|small Morris]] launched in 1928) with an 1100-cc engine, and a new [[Morris Oxford]] with a 1500-cc version of the engine, all sharing different-sized variants of the same [[Car platform|platform]] and with sporting MG and luxury [[Wolseley Motors|Wolseley]] versions to achieve further [[economies of scale]].

There was also the matter of timing –  a big rush existed for British manufacturers to get new models to market following the end of the war. [[Austin Motor Company|Austin]] was known to be working on an all-new but conventional car, the [[Austin A40 Devon]], which would be launched in 1947. The Mosquito was proposed for launch in 1949 and that deadline was appearing increasingly unlikely due to the untried nature of many of the car's features. The Morris board insisted on launching the Mosquito at the first postwar [[British International Motor Show|British Motor Show]] in October 1948.

This meant that several of Issigonis' proposals were reviewed – first the all-independent torsion bar suspension was changed for a torsion-sprung [[Beam axle|live rear axle]] and this was then substituted by a conventional [[leaf spring|leaf-sprung]] arrangement. All of Miles Thomas' suggestions for spreading the cost of developing the new car and broadening the design's appeal were treated sceptically by the Morris board and vetoed by Lord Nuffield. It became clear that the only way to overcome the personal and financial obstacles to the project was to adopt a lightly revised version of the Morris Eight's obsolete [[Flathead engine|side-valve]] engine.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|129}}  Thomas resigned his position at Morris Motors over the debacle.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|66}} Despite the changes the fundamental principles of Issigonis' concept – a spacious cabin, small wheels at each corner, a forward-placed engine, rack and pinion steering, and independent torsion-bar front suspension – remained.

While Thomas had been battling for the Mosquito's future, Issigonis had been settling the car's styling. Although in his later career he became known for very functional designs, Issigonis was heavily influenced by the modern styling of American cars, especially the [[Packard Clipper]] and the [[Buick Super]].<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|62}} A new feature was a low-set headlamps, integral with the grille panel (Issigonis had originally sketched [[Hidden headlamp|hidden lamps]] concealed behind sections of the grille, but these were never implemented). The original Mosquito prototype, which drew Lord Nuffield's "poached egg" comment, was designed with similar proportions to prewar cars, being relatively narrow for its length. In late 1947, with Cowley already tooling up for production, Issigonis was unhappy with the appearance of the car. He had the prototype cut lengthways and the two halves moved apart until it looked "right".<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|128}} The production model was thus {{convert|4|in|cm}} wider than the prototype, and in keeping with Issigonis' design principles, this further improved interior space and roadholding. It also gave the car distinctive (and recognisably modern) proportions – contrast with the [[Austin A30]], launched in 1952, but still recognisably prewar in size and proportions. The last-minute change to the design required a number of workarounds – [[Bumper (automobile)|bumpers]] had already been produced, so early cars had ones cut in half with a four-inch plate bolted between the joint.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|129}} The bonnet had a flat fillet section added to its centreline and the floorpan had two two-inch sections added either side of the transmission tunnel.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|68}}

===From Mosquito to Minor===
The last change made was to the car's name. The Mosquito codename was widely expected to be the name of the production model, but Nuffield disliked it. Also, Issigonis' last-minute size increase and the fitment of the larger-than-planned sidevalve engine needed to be considered; while still a small car, the new Morris was no longer the ultra-compact [[economy car]] that it had been on the drawing board, and the Mosquito name seemed inappropriate. Morris's marketing department wanted a reassuring name for what it worried would be an innovative, radical car that would be difficult to sell to a cautious public.<ref name="minorbio"/>{{rp|66}} So, the Minor name, intended for the midsized model in Thomas' planned trio of new cars, was adopted for what would become the smallest postwar Morris. The original 1928 Morris Minor had itself introduced a number of innovative features and had been the first four-wheeled car to sell for £100.

The new Morris Minor was launched at the British Motor Show at [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre|Earls Court]] in London on 27 October 1948. The original range consisted solely of a two-door saloon or a two-door tourer with a 918-cc engine and a starting price of £358. At the same show, Morris also launched the new [[Morris Oxford MO|Morris Oxford]] and [[Morris Six MS|Morris Six]] models, plus Wolseley variants of both cars, which were scaled-up versions of the new Minor, incorporating all the same features and designed with Issigonis' input under Oak's supervision. Thus, Issigonis' ideas and design principles underpinned the complete postwar Morris and Wolseley car ranges, although not the same extent that Miles Thomas had initially proposed.<ref name="issigonis"/>{{rp|125}}