Passion For Power
Truck & Driver|March 2020
An encounter at a Dutch show with the enthusiastic Greek owner of a superb Scania 141 prompts a visit to the yard of Theodoros Patounas in northern Greece
Paul O'Callaghan
Passion For Power

Among the thousands of trucks on show at the 2018 Truckstar Festival in the Netherlands, one in particular stood out.

The crowd that had gathered around it were undeterred by the black smoke belching from its almost ground level side exhaust pipe. The driver of the truck, a Scania 141, was bringing a smile to the faces of his audience as he revved the snarling V8 engine, which could emit smoke from either the vertical stacks or the side pipe at the flick of a switch.

What made the 141 all the more interesting was that it bore Greek registration plates, the only truck from Greece at the show – and the fact that someone would drive a 42-year-old Scania 2500km from southern Europe to attend a truck show near the North Sea shows a level of passion to be admired.

Off to Ioannina

We decided to pay what turned out to be a memorable visit to Patounas Transport to see the Scania’s owner. On entering the pristine yard in the town of Ioannina in northern Greece, overlooking Lake Pamvotis, I am greeted by Tasos Polychroniadis, the resident panelbeater and handyman about the yard.

“Akis will arrive shortly,” he tells me. Ten minutes later, Akis duly arrives in none other than the venerable 141. Jumping down from the cab, beaming from ear to ear, he gives me a firm welcoming handshake.

Theodoros Patounas (known to his friends as Akis), 42 years old, has been around trucks all of his life. Scania trucks to be precise. Both his father and his uncle were owner-drivers who started out with Scania-Vabis 56 models (built between 1962 and 1968), hauling everything and anything around the mountainous region of northern Greece.

In 1976, Paul Patounas, father of Theodoros, bought a brand-new Scania 141 6x2 lifting tag-axle rigid, complete with a drag trailer. For the next 16 years he operated the truck within Greece, venturing further and further from Ioannina as the years progressed.

Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Truck & Driver.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Truck & Driver.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA TRUCK & DRIVERSe alt
Well forked Daf
Truck & Driver

Well forked Daf

Remember, we like to cover all sorts of different trucks here at T&D – like this impressive new CF rigid complete with Moffett Mounty forklift

time-read
9 mins  |
August 2021
King of the hill
Truck & Driver

King of the hill

Moving heavy equipment off road calls for a truck with plenty of power and traction, which is why M&J Plant chose a mighty 6x4 FH16 750

time-read
9 mins  |
August 2021
Time Machine 2015-2019
Truck & Driver

Time Machine 2015-2019

It’s the final part of our series on the history of UK haulage. Let’s look back at those innocent times before that pesky virus turned up

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2021
Original and best
Truck & Driver

Original and best

There are few trucks which have been customised to the level of the Scania 143, but let’s not forget that the standard product was pretty awesome just as it left the factory, like this rare 420

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021
GOING ALL THE WAY
Truck & Driver

GOING ALL THE WAY

Simon Rogers got behind the wheel as soon as he was able to, and nearly 30 years later, his company is going from strength to strength, with a striking all-black, top-spec Iveco S-Way 570 the latest addition to the fleet

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021
Abnormal loads
Truck & Driver

Abnormal loads

In the distant past, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, truck drivers were a very different breed, made from sterner stuff than us mere mortals

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Range change
Truck & Driver

Range change

After a gap of 13 years, Renault trucks have reappeared in the unique colours of MacRitchie Highland Distribution. T&D takes the high road to Inverness to meet owners, Donald and Catriona MacRitchie

time-read
9 mins  |
August 2021
Cutting a dash
Truck & Driver

Cutting a dash

Freshly showered and munching a healthy egg and cress sarnie in Gloucester North services, Chris has a Foden update

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Air we go!
Truck & Driver

Air we go!

On Saturday 29 May at 6pm, 240 drivers gathered with their trucks at South Mimms Services for a parade to raise vital money for Essex & Hertfordshire Air Ambulance

time-read
1 min  |
August 2021
A Cutt Above
Truck & Driver

A Cutt Above

From coal to turf to fencing and loads more, there’s not much the Calcutt fleet hasn’t transported over the years

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021