Alta (vehicles)

:"This article is about the Greek company, for the British racing car and engine manufacturer see Alta Car and Engineering Company".

Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = ALTA (ΆΛΤΑ)
company_
fate = Defunct
successor =
foundation = 1962
defunct = 1978
location = Athens, Greece
industry = Vehicles
key_people =
products = motorcycles, cars, three-wheeler trucks
num_employees =
parent =
subsid =

Alta (not to be confused with a British company with the same name) 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 (some survive to date in good working condition). In 1967 it designed and developed model 'A700', a heavier three-wheeler truck with 2-cylinder BMW 35hp engine and a payload of 800 kg. The truck, featuring a pleasant design and high reliability became one of the most successful vehicles of its kind in Greece. In 1968 Alta introduced a three-wheeler passenger car, model 'A200' (three wheelers were classified differently according to Greek law). Powered by a Heinkel 200cc engine, the car was based on the German Fuldamobil (also produced by Attica in Greece under licence), but with Alta's own body design. The company moved production to a new, larger facory in Elefsis where it operated until 1978.

References

*L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003).
*G.N. Georgano (Ed.), "The New Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to Present", E.P. Dutton, New York (1982).
*M. Sedgwick, "Cars of the Fifties and Sixties", Crescent Books (1990).
*Automobil Revue/Revue Automobile (1971 ed.)

External links

* [http://www.kultur.at/van/flame/gall/set04/gall192.htm A perfectly restored Alta A200 in a museum in Eggenburg, Austria]