Attica (automobiles)
Encyclopedia
Moschato
Moschato , is a suburb in the south southern part of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Moschato-Tavros, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit....
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
by Georgios Dimitriadis, a figure in Greek automotive history.
Mr. Dimitriadis had designed and built a light four-wheel passenger automobile (model 505
Dimitriadis 505
Dimitriadis model 505 was a Greek microcar developed in 1958 by G. Dimitriadis, founder of the Bioplastic boat and automobile manufacturer. This car represented his first effort in automobile production, and was presented in a number of exhibitions in Greece. According to Mr...
) in 1958 with the intent to produce it. A tax imposed on four-wheel automobiles at the time, though, limited the car's market prospects; thus, he abandoned that plan, focusing instead on the production of three-wheelers - taxed as "motorcycles" in Greece. In 1962 he started production of a light three-wheeler passenger car under licence of Fuldamobil
Fuldamobil
Fuldamobil is the name of a series of small cars produced by Elektromaschinenbau Fulda GmbH of Fulda, Germany, and Nordwestdeutscher Fahrzeugbau of Wilhelmshaven between 1950 and 1969. Though numbers produced were relatively small, the cars attracted sufficient attention to see licensed...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as the Attica model 200 (it was much easier for cars certified abroad to receive certification for production in Greece). The car was built with few changes from the original German design, but later two different cabriolet versions were developed by Attica itself. 200 cc engines (by Sachs, Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
as well as engines built by Attica itself) were used to power different versions of the car.
The model became very popular in Greece and is remembered to this date. Another Greek company, Alta
Alta (vehicles)
Alta was a Greek manufacturer of light and heavier three-wheeler trucks, motorcycles and passenger cars. Production of motorcycles and three-wheeler trucks with Sachs 50cc engines started in its first factory in Athens in 1962. The 50S motorcycle model was known for its reliability...
, soon claimed a market share in the same category, introducing a similar vehicle in 1968; this was also based on Fuldamobil technology but it was extensively modified, with a more modern design. Attica 200 was nonetheless produced until 1971. In 1968 Bioplastic utilized the Attica 200 design to create a light three-wheeler truck brand named Delta (oddly enough, the rear-half of the 200 had become the front-half of Delta!), sold with modest success.
In 1965 Attica had already made an effort to enter the market of four-wheel automobiles, introducing the Carmel 12; the car was built under licence of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Autocars company (which, in turn, had used British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Reliant
Reliant
Reliant was a British car manufacturer. The company was traditionally based at Tamworth in Staffordshire, England, but in 2001 it moved to nearby Cannock. It ceased manufacturing cars shortly afterwards.-History:...
technology). In fact, the term "manufacture" is probably not appropriate in this case, as most parts were imported. Despite a publicity campaign, the car did not sell well and only about 100 Attica Carmel 12's were actually produced. In 1977 Dimitriadis transformed Bioplastic into a new company (DIM Motor) to produce the DIM
DIM (automobiles)
.DIM Motor Company, a Greek automobile maker, was created by Georgios Dimitriadis as a successor to his earlier company, Bioplastic S.A., which had produced the Attica automobile. The DIM represented one more effort by Mr. Dimitriadis to design and develop a modern car entirely by his company's own...
, an entirely new passenger automobile designed and developed by his company. The car was presented in the Geneva Motor Show in 1977 but its life was very brief: only a few were produced.