Birmingham Post - Mini designer Alex Moulton saddened by manufacturing demise

The designer who helped create the Mini has described the demise of manufacturing in the Midlands as a “terrible tragedy” and called on the education system to do more to promote practical engineering innovation among a new generation of designers. Dr Alex Moulton played a crucial role in the creation of the Mini for what was then the British Motor Corporation in the 1950s, along with his friend, designer Sir Alec Issigonis. The new rubber suspension system Dr Moulton designed made it possible for the designers to make the car one of the smallest ever built, creating one of the classic icons of British engineering. Millions of Minis came off the line at Birmingham’s Longbridge plant until the brand was finally sold, and production eventually closed down.