Anadol Böcek

Anadol/Otosan Böcek

The Anadol Böcek (Bug) was designed by Jan Nahum who worked at Otosan’s Design and Development Department in this period. Later in his career, Nahum became the General Manager of major companies like Otokar and Tofaş, the Head of International Business Development at FIAT, and later yet the CEO of Petrol Ofisi. Jan Nahum’s father, Bernar Nahum, played an important role in the establishment of the Anadol factory and the development of the Anadol A1.

Böcek made it to the showrooms in 1975. The vehicle, similar in appearance to a fiberglass dune buggy but different in design concept and characteristics, was developed upon request for a similar vehicle by the Turkish Armed Forces. Otosan also predicted that the rising popularity of Turkey’s tourism and beach resorts would guarantee a certain level of demand for a civilian-use version of such a vehicle. The Böcek’s roof could be opened, it didn’t have any doors, and its windshield had the same inclination as the hood. The futuristic front panel and gauges of the Böcek were ahead of their time, and were used many years later by future passenger vehicles in Europe.

Several different versions of the Böcek (Bug) were designed for institutional and civilian use. There was a version with gull-wing doors, a version for the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) which was optimized for using film and video cameras, an offroad version, a tractor/trailer version, and a military version.