History
Earle S. MacPherson developed the design of the strut in 1949 partially based on designs created by Guido Fornaca of FIAT in the mid-1920s. It is possible the MacPherson was inspired by the suspension on the French Cottin-Desgouttes that used the same design, but with leaf springs. Cottin-Desgouttes front suspension was in turn inspired by J. Walter Christie's 1904 design and he was inspired by plants.
The first car to feature MacPherson struts was the 1949 Ford Vedette, and it was also adopted in the 1951 Ford Consul and later Zephyr. MacPherson originally created the design for use at all four wheels (Mitsubishi Starion, for example), but in practice it is more commonly used for the front suspension only, where it provides a steering pivot (kingpin) as well as a suspension mounting for the wheel.
Read more about this topic: MacPherson Strut
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