Tofaş Şahin, Doğan and Kartal: Turkey’s Bird Series

The Tofaş Şahin, Doğan and Kartal are the Turkish edition of the Fiat 131, made in Bursa from 1977 and sold at home until 2002. Turks know them collectively as the Kuş Serisi, the Bird Series: şahin is a hawk, doğan a falcon and kartal an eagle. For a quarter of a century they were the default Turkish family car, and the estate also served as taxi, patrol car and delivery van.

Tofaş Şahin at a glance

The Turkish Wikipedia article on the Kuş Serisi redirects to the Tofaş company page; the family itself is described in the English article Tofaş Şahin, which this page follows.

History of the Tofaş Şahin

Murat 131, 1977

In February 1977 Tofaş introduced the Murat 131, a near-exact replica of the Fiat 131 that Fiat had launched in 1974. At first there was a single engine, a 1.3-litre pushrod four with a Solex twin-barrel carburettor rated at 70 PS SAE at 5,250 rpm. The car was assembled in the Tofaş plant at Bursa, where the company had been building the Fiat 124 as the Murat 124 since 1971.

Şahin, Doğan and Kartal, 1981

From 1981 the range gained the names that stuck. The saloon became the Şahin, the station wagon the Kartal, and a new, more luxurious saloon joined them as the Doğan, announced in September 1981 and on sale by October. A 1.6-litre OHV engine producing 75 PS DIN at 5,400 rpm was added and largely replaced the 1.3, which stayed only as a cheaper option for the basic Şahin with a Weber twin carburettor and a claimed 65 PS DIN. The single rounded rectangular headlamps of the early Murat 131 gave way to double units, and the Doğan came with a five-speed gearbox, fabric upholstery, a heated rear window, the front door vent windows deleted, a fully carpeted luggage compartment and suspension retuned to reduce high-speed understeer. From 1983 the Doğan was also singled out by large rectangular headlamps, while the Şahin and Kartal kept round twin lamps.

The 1988 redesign

In 1988 the cars received a major aesthetic revision, with a new front and rear that recalled the Fiat Regata. The Murat part of the name still appeared in some marketing material but no longer on the car and gradually vanished. The new headlamps were large and square with triangular corner lights that wrapped around, and the grille had slim vertical crossbars in black plastic, body-coloured at the top on the better-equipped versions. After the facelift the Doğan and Şahin saloons were almost visually identical apart from trim. The Kartal wagon kept a rear body developed locally, with a higher roof than the Fiat 131 Panorama, and the interiors were overhauled.

The diesel experiment

In 1985, as part of a national project to produce diesel vehicles after the oil-price shocks, Tofaş began developing a diesel Şahin and Kartal around the Fiat/Lancia 1.9-litre diesel rated at 73 PS SAE. Production started in January 1988 and sales in May. Imported engines carried no duty, but a single engine still cost more than a complete petrol Şahin, and the diesel car was priced 75 per cent higher. Most buyers were professional users for whom lower fuel costs would offset the difference, but sales were slow, promised local parts supplies never materialised, and owners struggled to keep the cars on the road. Sales ended in October 1989 after 820 cars; many survivors have had their Fiat engines replaced with locally made Isuzu units.

1994 facelift and Tempra engines

In August 1994, for the 1995 model year, the range was facelifted with a new grille, body-coloured on all but the lowest versions, with a prominent frame, a stylised T and a slim crossbar; the Doğan SLX also gained power steering. For 1996 the cars received single-overhead-camshaft engines from the Fiat Tempra: a 1.4-litre with 78 PS at 5,500 rpm for the Şahin and a 1.6-litre with 86 PS at 5,800 rpm for all models. The Şahin later lost the 1.4 in Turkey in favour of an 82 PS version of the 1.6, and the grille gained a circular central motif with the T logo.

Kartal Kargo and the end

In 1998 Tofaş added the Kartal Kargo, a two-seater panel van version of the wagon in the manner of Fiat’s own Marengo, with a 600 kg payload, panelled rear windows, black plastic trim and standard power steering. A further minor facelift came in 2002, the year Turkish sales ended: from then on the cars were built only for export, usually in CKD form, with catalysed engines rated at 72 PS at 6,000 rpm and 80 PS at 5,750 rpm and no four-speed gearbox. Single-point electronic fuel injection arrived in 2005 as production moved to Egypt, where assembly continued until 2009; DOCC in Ethiopia built the cars on a small scale from 2006 until 2010. In the 1990s and early 2000s a Şahin was a standard patrol car of the Turkish General Directorate of Security and the Gendarmerie, alongside the Renault 12 Toros, until the Fiat Doblò and Ford Transit Connect replaced them.

Design and features

• Bird names: şahin, doğan and kartal mean hawk, falcon and eagle, and Turks call the family the Kuş Serisi, the Bird Series.
• Fiat 131 backbone: rear-wheel drive, a longitudinal engine, MacPherson struts at the front and a live axle at the rear.
• Three bodies: saloon (Şahin and Doğan), estate with a locally developed rear (Kartal) and a two-seat panel van (Kartal Kargo).
• Continuous update: 1.3 and 1.6 pushrod engines, a short-lived 1.9 diesel, and from 1996 Tempra-derived overhead-camshaft engines.
• Working cars: taxi, police patrol car and delivery van as well as family transport.

Tofaş Şahin versions

• Murat 131 (1977–1981): the original Fiat 131 replica with a 1.3-litre engine and single rectangular headlamps.
• Şahin (1981–2002): the standard saloon, with twin round headlamps until 1988 and again on cheaper versions.
• Doğan (1981–2002): the luxury saloon with a five-speed gearbox, rectangular headlamps from 1983 and the SLX with power steering from 1994.
• Kartal (1981–2002): the estate, with a higher roof than the Fiat 131 Panorama.
• Kartal Kargo (1998–2002): two-seater panel van with a 600 kg payload.
• Diesel Şahin and Kartal (1988–1989): 1.9-litre Fiat/Lancia diesel, 820 built.

The Serçe is the smaller Tofaş of the same years, based on the Fiat 124, and the story of the company behind both cars is in the Tofaş article. More cars are in the Tofaş collection.

Video: TOFAŞ-ŞAHİN-DOĞAN-KARTAL

Video by dirginelikinq on YouTube.

Sources

• Tofaş Şahin, English Wikipedia: models, engines, updates, production
• TOFAŞ, Turkish Wikipedia: dates and model history