project was to adopt a lightly revised version of the Morris Eight's obsolete side-valve engine. Thomas resigned his position at Morris Motors over the debacle. 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. A new feature was a low-set headlamps, integral with the grille panel (Issigonis had originally sketched 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". The production model was thus 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 – bumpers had already been produced, so early cars had ones cut in half with a four-inch plate bolted between the joint. 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. 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