Devrim
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Devrim was the first ever automobile designed and produced in Turkey.
| Devrim | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Production | 1961 |
| Engine(s) | 2.0 L (50 hp) |
| Transmission(s) | Unknown |
| Length | 4500 mm |
| Width | 1800 mm |
| Height | 1550 mm |
| Curb weight | 1250 kg |
In 1961, President Cemal Gürsel ordered 24 engineers working in various companies, including Necmettin Erbakan, who became Prime Minister in the 1990s, to build a car fully designed and produced in Turkey. It was to be demonstrated during the Republic Day celebrations on October 29, 1961.
After four and a half months of hasty labour in the workshop, which later became the TÜLOMSAŞ factory, the engineers managed to make four prototypes of the automobile. One was black, and the others were cream. It was named Devrim (the Turkish word for Revolution).
Three of the cars were shipped to Ankara for the Republic Day celebrations. The black car was painted while on the train to Ankara. None of the cars had gasoline in them, as a safety precaution, and the cars were filled with little fuel, only for maneuvering. On the day of the celebrations, President Cemal Gürsel got in the black car for a ceremonial ride. After driving a hundred meters the car stopped, because it had run out of gasoline, thus the car could not take a complete tour around the Turkish Parliament, as previously planned. Then the President got in one of the cream cars, and went to Anıtkabir with it. The newspaper headlines in the following day were, "Devrim went 100 meters, and it stopped." The car became the subject of jokes for many years.
Devrim was never mass produced. One reason for that was the cars were crafted prototypes and the production process was not well-documented, with almost no technical drawings remaining from the production phase. Another reason was that the demand was not high enough to make mass production feasible. Cars were still affordable for a small economic minority, who preferred to buy American and European cars, and as such, there was only a small number of potential private buyers.
A popular conspiracy theory about the failure of mass production suggests that the American auto giants, who sold most of the foreign cars in Turkey (even the Police cars were GM and Ford models, especially Chevrolet, until the late 1970s) had approached the Turkish government to cancel the project, and it was decided to keep the relations smooth between the two close NATO allies.
Five years later, in 1966, Anadol became Turkey's first mass production passenger car.Produced by Otosan (which is a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding).
Three of the prototypes were destroyed and the last one is kept inside the TÜLOMSAŞ factory in Eskişehir, where it was built.
