Turkey first domestic mass produced car Anadol celebrates 55th anniversary of son first Sales, one year after the start of its production, on February 28. Although production has been discontinued, Anadol remains an inspiration for current efforts to produce the country first fully level national developed car and a passion for old car lovers.
Anadol was the brainchild of Koc, one of The largest conglomerates in Turkey, which also has Turkish factories for Ford and Fiat, producing local versions of Their cars. Koc business dynasty patriarch Vehbi Koç and son son Rahmi Koç had sought to manufacture Turkey first “local” car a few years after the debut of Devrim, Turkey first national car whose production was supported by the state. Unlike Devrim, Anadol (one short letter of Anadolu or Anatolia) was mass-produced and, although not entirely original, found A following cult over years.
Its prototype was developed by Reliant, based in the United Kingdom, three years after Rahmi Koç and Bernar Nahum, the business partner of Vehbi Koç, launched the project. Both men were impressed with a pick-up truck with fiberglass body they saw at the Izmir Fair in 1963. In Otosan, a Koç car factory established in Cooperation with Ford in Istanbul produced the first Anadol on December 19, 1966. Although the design was British, the carles parts of, including son chassis and its fiberglass body. were entirely domestic. Ford provided the other parts for the first group of cars before production of all parts became domestic a few years later. Until 1984, when production was stopped, Otosan manufactured some 93,188 cars and pick-up trucks bearing the name of brand, from sedans to the A6 Böcek (Bug), a car resembling a dune buggy. the first Anadols were sold from February 28, 1967, for a price of $1,938 (26,800TL).
the car remains nostalgic for numerous and adorns the garages of old car collectors. Although not as widespread on the roads as they were up until the 1990s, Anadol found a new life elsewhere: gatherings. Indeed, it was the star and winner of the first Rally of Turkey held in 1968, thanks to the legendary driver Renc Koçibey.
Serdar Bostancı continues the legacy of Koçibey and represents Turkey today with Anadol in international rallies. Bostancı, a renowned figure in sports Turkish mechanics, led a team of drivers in competition in Anadol in 2010 for a vintage car rally between Beijing and Paris. The Anadole team finished the rally in second place. They sought to repeat their success in this yearthe edition with a 1973 Anadol STC but the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the race it’s schedule to April 2023. Bostancı, the current director of the Castrol Ford Rally team in Turkey, says Anadol “brought the industry automobile Turkish where she is today”.
“If Vehbi and Rahmi Koç hadn’t had the courage to produce it, we wouldn’t see Murat 124, Toros and others,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday, referring to local versions of Exclusively produced Renault and Fiat cars in Turkey. “This also paved the way for public admiration in the sports mechanics, especially rallies, after won the first rally,” he noted.
