Tofaş Şahin

Tofaş Şahin
Tofaş Şahin in Egypt
Overview
Manufacturer	Tofaş
Also called	Tofaş Dogan Tofaş Kartal Nasr Sahin Holland DOCC
Production	1986–2010
Assembly	Bursa, Turkey Cairo, Egypt (Nasr, until 2010) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Holland Car, until 2010)
Body and chassis
Class	Family car
Body style	4-door sedan
Layout	FR layout
Related	Fiat 131 SEAT 131
Powertrain
Engine	1,297 cc 131 A.000? OHV I4 1,372 cc 159 A2.000 SOHC I4 1,581 cc 159 A3.000 SOHC I4 1,585 cc 131 A1.000 OHV I4
Transmission	4/5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,490 mm (98.0 in)
Length	4,316 mm (169.9 in)
Width	1,642 mm (64.6 in)
Height	1,437 mm (56.6 in)
Curb weight	960 kg (2,116 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Tofaş Murat 131 (1977-1986)

The Tofaş Şahin, Doğan, and Kartal are Turkish versions of the old Fiat 131 automobile made in Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş. facilities in Bursa, Turkey. While doğan means "hawk" in Turkish, kartal means "eagle" and şahin means "falcon". The car was built from 1977 and sold in Turkey until 2002, with Egyptian assembly coming to an end in 2009 and in Ethiopia until 2010.

In February 1977 the Turkish Tofaş Murat 131 was first introduced, as a near exact replica of the Fiat 131. Originally it was only available with a Solex twin-barrel carbureted 1.3 L pushrod petrol four, producing 70 PS (51 kW) (SAE) at 5,250 rpm. From 1981 the Şahin ("Falcon") and Kartal names were also in use, with the Kartal ("Eagle") being the station wagon. From this point a 1.6-litre OHV engine was also added to the lineup, producing 75 PS (55 kW) DIN at 5,400 rpm. This largely replaced the smaller 1.3 (now with a claimed 65 PS or 48 kW DIN at 5,400 rpm with a Weber twin carburetor), which was only retained as a lower priced option for the more basic Şahin version. The single, rounded rectangular headlights of the earlier Murat 131s were replaced with double units. Announced in September 1981 (on sale by October), the new luxurious Doğan model received a five-speed manual transmission. The Doğan also received a fully fabric upholstered interior, a heated rear window, and had the front door vent windows removed. The luggage compartment was fully carpeted and the suspension was adjusted to minimize understeer at high speeds.

The five-speed remained standard only for the Doğan, although it later became an option in the lesser models. From 1984, the Doğan was also set apart by large rectangular headlights while the lesser Şahin and Kartal made do with round twin headlights.

In 1988 they received a major aesthetic revision resulting in a design very reminiscent of the Fiat Regata. The "Murat" portion of the name was still used in some marketing material, but no longer appeared on the car and gradually vanished. The new headlights were large and square, with triangular corner lights which wrap around. The grille has a number of slim vertical crossbars in black plastic, with higher end models receiving some body colored elements at the top of the grille. After the facelift, the Doğan and Şahin sedan models are almost visually identical barring various upper-class trim options on the slightly more luxurious Doğan variant. The Kartal, the station wagon derivation of the design, has a rear body developed locally, with a higher roof than that of the 131 Estate originating with SEAT in Spain.