1974 Neorion Chicago 4x4 at the Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum The Neorion Chicago, a 1974 product of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Neorion Neorion is one of the oldest Greece, Greek heavy industries, located in Ermoupolis, on the Greek island of Syros. Today, it is one of the few remaining major industrial corporations in what used to be the industrial and commercial center of Gree ...

group of companies, was a car that was to combine uncompromising luxury, retro-looks and a powerful 4x4, cross-country character.

History

In 1972, under the ownership of Greek millionaire Giannis Goulandris,

incorporated

Enfield Automotive Enfield Automotive was an electric car manufacturer founded in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Under the ownership of Greek millionaire Giannis Goulandris, production was moved to the Greece, Greek isle of Syros during the 1973 oil crisis, oil ...

, originally a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

company, already owned by Goulandris, involved in the design and construction of electric cars. This led to the creation of a new company that undertook vehicle production, "Enfield-Neorion E.P.E.", headquartered in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

, and production of the cars (which had been designed in the UK by British and Greek engineers) was transferred to

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, A ...

, where

is based. Apart from the production of the electric cars, Goulandris wanted to develop "conventional" cars. One of his ideas was a mixture of a luxurious, retro-styled limousine with a very strong cross-country character and capabilities. The design and overall development of the car was assigned to a team of Greek engineers, headed by Georgios Michael. After eight months of development work, the ''Chicago'' (the name inspired by its 1930s retro-style), was built at the Neorion dockyards in the town of

Ermoupoli Ermoupoli ( el, Ερμούπολη), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( el, < "Town of

Hermes

"), is a to ...

, and a running version was introduced in 1974. Its construction included a steel chassis built by the Neorion shipyard and an aluminum body that incorporated additional reinforcements for passenger protection. The

drivetrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

came from the full-sized

Jeep Wagoneer (SJ) The Jeep Wagoneer is a luxury 4x4 produced and marketed under Jeep under successive automakers from 1962 to 1991. Described when it was introduced as a station wagon body style, the innovative concept by industrial designer Brooks Stevens o ...

and included the

American Motors Corporation American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...

(AMC)

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

. Early sketches by Michael suggested a more elegant limousine with a strong retro-look. However, the final design was significantly altered to accommodate the mechanical parts and structure to cope with the desired cross-country capabilities. The designer tried to distance himself from the car (which he often described as a "mountain dinosaur"), arguing that Goulandris had essentially dictated its basic elements. After many years, even its designer seems to have finally given some credit to his own creation. A production line was started with four vehicles at various stages of construction when a change of Greek law condemned the market prospects of the car. Two complete vehicles were made and sold before the venture was terminated in 1976. One of the cars is exhibited in the

Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum Thessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum (NOESIS) is located at the outskirts of Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. The museum’s main objective is to offer to the public an environment that facilitates the familiarization with ...

. A second car is in a private collection.

References

{{Reflist Cars of Greece Concept cars