Styl Kar
Encyclopedia
Evolution of the Greek three-wheel truck
The first transformations of motorcycles into "trucks" in the country probably took place in the early 1940s by workshops in AthensAthens
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...
, when Greece was still under occupation by the axis powers. Immediately after the war a large number of 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...
(Norton
Norton (motorcycle)
Norton is a British motorcycle marque, originally from Birmingham, founded in 1898 as a manufacturer of "fittings and parts for the two-wheel trade". By 1902, they had begun manufacturing motorcycles with bought-in engines. In 1908, a Norton-built engine was added to the range...
, BSA
Birmingham Small Arms Company
This article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....
), Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It is one of seven brands owned by Piaggio.Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its central historic role in Italy's motorcycling manufacture, its prominence worldwide in motorcycle racing, and a series of...
), and mostly German
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...
(Zundapp
Zündapp
Zündapp was a major German motorcycle manufacturer. The company was founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer, together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und Apparatebau G.m.b.H." as a producer of detonators...
, BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
) motorcycles were left, along with destroyed U.S. Willys
Willys
Willys was the brand name used by Willys-Overland Motors, an American automobile company best known for its design and production of military Jeeps and civilian versions during the 20th century.-Early History:In 1908, John Willys bought the Overland Automotive Division of Standard Wheel Company...
and other military vehicles. Involving a lot of engineering ingenuity, parts from different vehicles were joined together into contraptions being half-motorcycles half-trucks with remarkably efficient results. Soon, there was "production", with parts being more or less standardized. Progressively motorcycle parts were replaced by automobile parts, power most frequently being provided by Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
air-cooled engines. By the late 1950s this process started evolving into complete development of three-wheeler trucks that had nothing to do with motorcycles anymore (according to Greek law, though, three wheelers did not fall into the same tax and other categories as four-wheeler automobiles). STYL KAR is considered a pioneering company in the development of the Greek three-wheeler truck technology, adopted by other companies. It is also one of the few that evolved into a real industrial corporation.
The Styl Kar Story
Stylianos Karakatsanis started business in ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
after WWII repairing and selling ex-military motorcycles, and, soon transforming them into light trucks. During the 1950s he produced entire vehicles and by 1959 STYL KAR's first "classic" three-wheeler trucks were produced. In 1965 it moved to 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...
, and new, advanced designs were introduced. During the military dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974) laws for type certification were made more flexible, while three-wheelers enjoyed a favorable tax treatment. That resulted in the development of the industry, with companies like STYL KAR, 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...
, Ros
Ros (vehicles)
Ros was the trade name of vehicles produced by the Greek company 'Stavros Konstantinides O.E.', based in Athens. The Ros three-wheeler trucks were the most successful of its kind in Greece, having been produced by the thousands...
, Apollon, Babis, Marz, SAM
SAM (vehicles)
The name SAM stands for Stephanos A. Mbaltas , the founder of this Greek company, one of several that produced three-wheeler trucks in that country, in business between 1966 and 1974...
, MotorCar
MotorCar (trucks)
MotorCar was a Greek three-wheeler truck manufacturer, in business between 1967 and 1971. It was one of the smaller in its category, although rather "professional" in its quality of design and construction. Its models used a chassis developed by MotorCar, in two versions using Volkswagen and...
, Atlas
Atlas (light trucks)
Atlas was a Greek company based in Rentis that produced three-wheel trucks and other metal structures. In business between 1967 and 1972, it used Volkswagen engines, as well as German Ford axles. Cabs were made of glass-fiber reinforced composite...
, Motoemil
Motoemil
Motoemil was a Greek truck manufacturer based in Thessaloniki . It was named after Emilios Antoniades who started his business, together with his brother Konstantinos, by constructing crude-made trucks assembled from motorcycle and automobile parts...
, Pan-Car
Pan-Car
Pan-Car was a Greek producer of automobiles and light trucks, operating between 1968 and 1994. As was often the case in Greece, its name comes from that of its founder, Panayiotis Caravisopoulos. In 1968 it was one of many Greek companies that produced three-wheeler trucks, using Volkswagen engines...
, Dinap
Dinap (trucks)
Dinap was one of the smaller Greek machine and truck manufacturers with its factory on Liosion St., in Athens. The Dinap 1200 was a three-wheel truck produced in the second half of the 1960s. It was powered by a 1200cc, air-cooled Volkswagen engine and could legally carry...
and others multiplying production, this kind of vehicle becoming a common sight all over the country (especially the smaller companies often used rebuilt engines and other parts). STYL KAR built a new, larger factory in 1967 and soon its most successful model, the 1300 (with Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
air-cooled engine) was introduced. The company produced thousands of three-wheeler trucks, while in 1975 it developed a two-tonne four-wheel truck to replace the three-wheelers that were by that time becoming less appealing to the Greeks (this new model finally not produced). In 1979 it developed a light sports car and worked on building a whole new factory in Thiva to produce it. However, a huge debt discovered by tax auditors gave the final blow to a company that had progressively lost its basic market. All plans were abandoned and STYL KAR, the company that pioneered perhaps the most characteristic Greek vehicle, went out of business altogether.