The year is 1912. While Bulgaria, together with Serbia, Greece and Montenegro, meets Turkey on the battlefield to defend the territories taken years earlier, a Bulgarian takes his first and only step towards… automotive industry. His name is also Viktor Vitanov, and the researcher of old technology Anton Orush says that he himself did not expect this find, BNR reported.
Victor Vitanov was born in Sofia in 1891. Which means the young aircraft and car designer was only 21 years old when he built the car. Due to the scarce data, Anton Orush assumes that Victor inherited his abilities from his father Georgi, who was one of the first importers of typewriters in the Principality of Bulgaria.
From the accounts it is clear that his family later moved to a town in North Yorkshire in England. And there, along with his father's typewriter repair shop, Victor managed to build two airplanes. And the car that Viktor Vitanov makes is far from your idea of a modern car, but from Anton Orush's research we learn that the machine was made with quality materials for its time. Four-wheeled, gasoline-free.
As the British magazine wrote at the time as an assessment of Viktor Vitanov - "a very commendable effort". Well, his car wasn't going fast. Only 15-20 kilometers per hour. At that time, the most popular model of Ford-T, developed 68 kilometers per hour. And the racing ones reached 157 kilometers per hour. The car had no protection for the engine and the passenger compartment from wind, rain and sun…
Viktor Vitanov failed to start the Bulgarian automobile industry. But cars were quite popular in our country. Between 1896 and 1912, foreigners imported them for their own needs, entrepreneurs for prestige, hotels to pick up their guests from the station, post offices to carry parcels.
The military had at least 30 cars - cargo and personal. And then a whole automotive department. The royal palace had three cars. One can be seen at the History Museum of Sofia.
By 1912, Bulgaria already had a commercial agency for the sale of cars and public transport in Sofia and Varna. Intercity lines in many cities. In Bulgaria, documents were issued for law enforcement, there were car clubs. In 1912, the "Regulations for the movement of cars in Sofia" appeared, registration plates. Even old and greased bikes broken by accidents.
Anton Orush mentions the attempt during socialism to also make cars in Bulgaria. And he agrees that our failures to attract investors to make cars in our country are due to various factors.