Ramses

Ramses ( Arabic رمسيس , read Ramses ) - Egyptian car brand, produced by the Egyptian Light Transport Manufacturing Company in the period from 1958 to 1972, with headquarters in Cairo . In 1969, the company buys the company "El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company", in 1972, the production of cars was discontinued.

Egyptian Light Transport Manufacturing Company
المصرية لصناعة النقل الخفيفة الشركة
Type of	Private company
Base	1958
Abolished	1972
Reason for abolition	company buys firm NSU Motorenwerke (1969)
Location	Cairo Egypt
Key figures	Basim Mohammed
Industry	Automotive industry
Products	Cars
Site

After the 1952 revolution in Egypt there was only one machine manufacturer - Ford , which assembled British models in the shop in Alexandria, but after the anti-British uprising, production was curtailed. Nasser needed his own vehicle manufacturers, as a result, in Egypt, enterprises that were subsidized by the state began to appear: in Egypt, air-cooled engines were manufactured under license from the German Klöckner Humboldt Deutz , production of Fiat models 1100 , 1300 and, subsequently, 2300 began ; the production of trailers of the German company Blomhart , the manufacture of agricultural machinery under the license of the Yugoslav plant IMR .

In 1958, an agreement was signed between the Egyptian government and the German company NSU Motorenwerke on the creation of a joint venture - the Egyptian Light Transport Manufacturing Company , whose director was appointed Basim Mohammed. Production facilities were built in the desert of Giza , near the valley of the Pyramids .

In 1959, the assembly of the NSU Prinz III began the assembly of primitive boxed cars called the Ramses in honor of the pharaohs of the 20th dynasty (model Utilica). The reason for this design was that the car bodies were made in an artisanal way, using hand presses and hammers. The model lasted in production until 1963, a total of about 1,100 pieces were produced. At the end of 1962, the production of a new model, the Ramses-II , began, 70% identical to the NSU Prinz 4 , the main difference was in the design of the chuck, which received a scary grille.

At the same time, the Italian company Vignale was commissioned to draft a 2-door convertible body. The machine, created on the basis of Prinz 4 was called Ramses Gamila , turned out to be quite pretty from behind, but in front of it was a terrible grille, and the presence of such a front was a condition for an Egyptian enterprise.

But since the simple "Ramses II" was not particularly bought (about 300 units were built in the first two years), and convertible cars generally differed piece by piece, it was decided to produce cars with a van and pickup body. The design of the Ramses II was more pleasant for the eyes in 1965, a car with such a design was produced until 1966 (about 400 pieces were made).

In 1966, wanting to postpone the Egyptian car from the German prototype, a new body was built, built based on the Germans, but more reminiscent of the Soviet ZAZ-968 . The body became larger and higher, but the technical stuffing remained the same, this time the project was entrusted no longer by Italians, but was done by their own efforts, the project was led by local engineer Abdel Wahed.

However, the new model - the Ramses III, has generally ceased to be in demand, and only in the first year less than a hundred cars were produced. In 1969, when the state stopped subsidizing enterprises, the Egyptian Light Transport Manufacturing Company was bought by El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company, which was just engaged in the production of Deutz engines. In 1972, a prototype of a 4-door vehicle was presented, which, however, for some reason, it was decided not to launch into the series. In the same year, the production of serial machines was stopped, the demand for which was miserable. In just 13 years of production, about 1,700 cars of this brand were produced. In 1979, the plant resumed production of cars, but it was already Italian “Fiats”, and this time Ramsez brand decided not to use it.