Editing Morris Minor (section)

===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.