Biotechnia Ellinikon Trikyklon (Βιοτεχνία Ελληνικών Τρίκυκλων, "Greek Three-Wheeler Manufacturer"), or BET, was a small vehicle

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

founded in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

by Petros Konstantinou. It was one of several manufacturers - the first appearing in the early 1940s - that converted

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

or other motorcycles into light utility three-wheelers. In 1965 it entirely designed and built a small five-seat passenger car with a

125cc

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. Although the type was certified, only one was built due to problems in availability of parts for further

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

. Following this design, three-wheeled truck models were developed and produced. A second passenger car model was designed and introduced in 1973, known as model ''

500 500 may refer to: * 500 (number) * 500 BC * AD 500 Buildings and places * 500 Boylston Street in Boston * 500 Brickell in Miami * 500 Capitol Mall in Sacramento * 500 Fifth Avenue * 500 Renaissance Center, one of seven buildings in the GM ...

'', with a

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500cc engine. With metal body, seating up to five passengers and featuring very good road handling, it was a rather advanced three-wheeler for its time. It was certified for production and 15 were built, of which one survives to this date in excellent condition. There were even talks with a South African company involving plans for exports or even transfer of production to that country, but they were never realized. The company ceased production in 1975.

References

* L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003) (republished by the University of Patras Science Park, 2007).
L.S. Skartsis, "Greek Vehicle & Machine Manufacturers 1800 to present: A Pictorial History", Marathon (2012)
(eBook) * M. Arvanitopoulos, "Istoria tou Ellinikou Motosykletismou (History of the Motorcycle in Greece)", Mototech, Athens (2006) . * K. Bitsikokos, "Affordable cars made in Greece", ''Auto Bild (Hellas)'', issue 22, Feb 29, 2008. * Petros Konstantinou archive. Three-wheeled motor vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Greece Manufacturing companies based in Athens {{Greece-company-stub

See also

References