The Balaton was a Hungarian

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...

made by Székesfehérvári Motorjavitó Vállalat based in the central Hungarian town of

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, which began production in 1956. It was powered by a 250 cc Pannonia

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

engine. The rubber suspension was developed from an idea of

Ernő Rubik Ernő Rubik (; born 13 July 1944) is a Hungarian architect and inventor, widely known for creating the Rubik's Cube (1974), Rubik's Magic, and Rubik's Snake. While Rubik became famous for inventing the Rubik's Cube and his other puzzles, m ...

Sr., father of

who later became famous for the Rubik's Cube. The roof and doors were in one piece and hinged to give access to the interior. The same company also made the Alba Regia microcar with which the Balaton shared most of its mechanical parts.

External links

Hungarian Microcars of the 50s
with pictures {{Classicpow-auto-stub Car manufacturers of Hungary Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Hungary B Cars of Hungary Cars introduced in 1956 Manufacturing companies established in 1956 1956 establishments in Hungary