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Seat was founded in 1950 but the company didn't build its first car until 1953 – making the brand 65 years old in 2018.
It's easy to think of Seat as a relatively new company, not least of all because its products were only sold in its home market for many years.
Over the past six and a half decades the company's cars have become far more attractive and sophisticated; here's how Spain's Seat went from making Fiat cast-offs to producing some of the most appealing cars on the market.
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SEAT builds it first car
Wilfred Ricart founded Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo in Barcelona on 9 May 1950, but the company wouldn’t produce its first car until 13 November 1953. To get out of the starting blocks Ricart signed a deal with Fiat, to licence some of its models – the first of which was the 1400.
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The SEAT 1400
The 1400 would be crucial to Seat’s success; at first it was available only as a saloon, but in time there would also be estate and commercial editions, along with special-bodied cars such as this ambulance. It was Spain’s taxi drivers who loved it the most – especially the seven-seater version.
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Production ramps up
When Seat started out it was building just five cars each day, despite a workforce of 925. Despite the first 1400 being built in November 1953, it wouldn’t get its official unveiling until June of the following year – when a whacking 10,000 orders were placed, despite a £35,000 price in today’s money.
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The SEAT 600 arrives
Seat production continued to build; by the end of 1957 no fewer than 10,000 copies of the 1400 were being built each year. It was also time for strike two; the brilliant little Seat 600 was introduced.
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A burgeoning range
Seat was catering only for its home market but the Spanish weren't spoiled for choice. This is Seat's 1961 range outside its Zona Franco factory. At the time the company didn't make that many models though, so there's a bit of artistic licence going on here…
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The SEAT 600 makes its mark
By 1962 Seat had built 100,000 examples of the 600, and would go on to develop a four-door version called the 800; Fiat only ever offered a two-door model. The 600 was a huge step forward for both Spain and Seat, as it put the nation on wheels with more than 800,000 sold between 1957 and 1973.
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Out with the 1400 – in with the 1500
By 1963 the time had come to replace the 1400, and it was this which did the job: the 1500. It used the Fiat 1800 bodyshell but packed a slightly larger engine than its predecessor. Production would last nine years, with 135,000 examples made.
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SEAT exports begin
When the original deal was signed, Fiat took a 7% stake in Seat; in 1967 this was increased to 36%. At the same time Fiat started to allow Seat to export some of its cars (these are 600s); things would never be the same again…
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Welcome to the SEAT 124
Fiat made millions of 124s before selling the rights to Russia's Lada – but in the meantime Seat also licensed the model. Ultimately 900,000 124s were made between 1968 and 1980. It was the 124 which would be Seat’s one-millionth car to be built – a yellow one which was given away on TV game show Un millon para el mejor.
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Let the good times roll
By the 1970s Seat was on a roll; it had become Spain’s largest industrial company and by 1974 it was ranked number eight in Europe’s car makers, with annual revenues of just under one billion dollars. In 1972 the Seat 127 was introduced. Seat’s first front-wheel drive car, it was nicked straight from the Fiat line-up – but as with the 600, Seat also offered a four-door edition, unlike Fiat.
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132: the forgotten SEAT
The 132 is one of many forgotten Fiats – the chances are you didn’t even know there was ever a Seat take on the model. But there was; it replaced the 1500 and around 100,000 examples rolled out of the Zona Franco factory between 1973 and 1982, including petrol and diesel-engined versions.
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133: SEAT's first stand-alone model
You’d be forgiven for assuming the 133 was just another rebadged Fiat, but in fact this was the first ever Seat that was an original design. Introduced in 1974, the 133 was based on the platform of the Seat 850, so it was rear-engined and rear-wheel drive – production lasted until 1982.
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SEAT 131: another forgotten car
Fiat was no stranger to lame ducks in the 1970s, and because Seat’s range mirrored that of its Italian benefactor, the Spanish marque also produced a series of now-forgotten models. Chief among these was the 131, yet despite its forgettable status more than 400,000 were made between 1975 and 1984.
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SEAT gets sporty
In 1975 Seat opened its new Martorell Technical Centre, which was briefed with creating products unique to the brand. Its first car was the rather attractive 127-based 1200 Sport and 1430 Sport, which came with 1197cc and 1438cc powerplants respectively. Production lasted until 1981.
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SEAT embraces the 1980s
As the 1970s turned into the 1980s, Seat’s range continued to mirror Fiat’s. As a result you could buy a 128, a Panda or a Strada in Seat guise – known as the 128, Marbella and Ritmo (later Ronda) respectively. This is the 128 in 3P (3 Portes, or three-door) form…
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The SEAT Marbella
…while this is the Marbella, which formed part of Seat’s launch range when it officially arrived in the UK back in 1984.
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Out goes FIAT, in comes VW
We’ve jumped ahead of ourselves slightly, because in 1982 there was a seismic change for SEAT, which was haemorrhaging cash. Fiat bailed out and Seat started to work with Volkswagen instead. This was the point at which Seat decided to get all patriotic and name its cars after Spanish cities – so we got the Ronda, Marbella and – seen here – the Malaga. At this point, Seat’s range still consisted exclusively of rebadged Fiats.
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SEAT gets Furaous
This was hot hatch motoring Seat-style in 1983, when the Fura Crono was introduced. Fiat finished building the 127 in 1983; in 1981 Seat introduced its own version called the Fura with a 903cc engine. But Seat then pepped things up a bit with the 75bhp 1.5-litre Crono which got alloy wheels, spoilers front and rear plus a pair of front fog lights.
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SEAT launches the Ibiza
By 1984 we also got the Ibiza, a car unique to Seat, and with Porsche involvement for some editions. The car would go on to become Seat’s best-selling model, now in its fifth generation.
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VW ups its stake
Volkswagen had been reluctant to buy into Seat, but in 1986 the German company took a 51% stake in the firm – which it raised to 75% soon after. By 1990 it had increased this to a 99.9% stake; that’s also the year in which the Proto T concept was unveiled (seen here) along with the Proto C and Proto TL.
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Welcome to the 1990s
Apart from the Ibiza, Seat’s range was still pretty uninspiring as the eighties turned into the nineties, but Seat had things in hand. The first of an all-new breed of cars was the Giugiaro-designed Toledo (seen here), which arrived in 1991. It may not have been exciting but at least it was modern. Later would come the Cordoba too.
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Alhambra marks a new start
The Alhambra marked another departure for Seat; it was the first badge-engineered Volkswagen, and just to complicate things it was developed in conjunction with Ford. Launched in 1996, this seven-seater people-carrier would soldier on all the way until 2010, when an all-new model would arrive – again, a rebadged VW Sharan.
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SEAT Arosa: pint-sized fun
Hot on the heels of the Alhambra came another badge-engineered VW; the pint-sized Arosa. But we don’t care about the badge-engineering; this diminutive machine provided fun for those on a budget, and it still looks neat even though it first arrived in 1997.
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Bolero: a stylish family saloon
By the time the Bolero was unwrapped at the 1998 Geneva motor show, Seat had already created a stack of concepts – but this was the first one that looked like more than a made-over production car. Even now it looks rather stylish…
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SEAT turns up the sportiness
Here’s one we should have had; the Lotus Elise-like Formula, revealed in 1999. Seat was attempting to brand itself as the sporty arm of the Volkswagen Group – a German/Spanish Alfa Romeo effectively. So a sporty little number like this would have been just the job – but sadly it wasn’t to be.
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A new design language
In 2000 we got our first glimpse of Seat’s new design language with the Salsa Emocion. This sporty three-door SUV was a preview of the Altea and Leon which would arrive in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
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You've been Tangoed
While the Formula was a hard-core sports machine, Seat’s next open-topped concept was more mainstream. The front-engined Tango, which debuted in 2001, would have been pitched against machines such as the Vauxhall Tigra and Toyota MR2.
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SEAT gets serious in motorsport
Seat had taken part in motorsport as long ago as the 1970s, and in 1985 the in-house Seat Sport division was set up to ensure the brand was competitive in rallying. In its quest to be perceived as a sporty brand, Seat took part in the World Rally Championship between 1997 and 2000, before then muscling in on the BTCC in 2004 – taking part until 2009.
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The Altea arrives
In 2004 we saw Seat’s new design language in action; the dramatic Altea would also share its styling with the Leon along with the third-generation Toledo. Another now-forgotten variant to use the design was the rather under-rated Altea Freetrack, seen here.
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The Tribu concept
In 2007 Seat revisited the idea of creating an SUV, with its Tribu concept. While the show car featured just three doors, any production machine would have come with five doors but hopefully largely unchanged looks. But despite these micro-SUVs becoming incredibly popular, Seat still didn't develop any models of its own.
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Exeo: SEAT revives the Audi A4
While Seat has long offered a mixture of rebadged Fiats, VWs and unique models, it had never revived a defunct Audi before. All that changed in 2008 though, with the arrival of the Exeo, a warmed-up A4 originally offered between 2000 and 2008. Undoubtedly a good car, if a rather unoriginal one, it genuinely was a cut-price Audi, but without the quattro option.
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Last chance for recovery
The global financial crisis hit Seat's sales very hard – to the point where it was in very real danger of being closed down. In 2010 we reported that Seat's factories were under-utilised and its model range was of little interest to new-car buyers – it really needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Or preferably several rabbits.
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The IBX concept is unveiled
The Tribu SUV concept hadn't gone anywhere, but by 2011 it was clear that if Seat wanted to survive it really needed to start building SUVs of different sizes. We got our first glimpse of what a production Seat SUV might look like with the IBX concept, at the spring 2011 Geneva motor show.
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Toledo – more of the same
While rivals were busy unveiling one SUV after another, Seat stuck with its unsuccessful strategy of trying to push hatchbacks and estates. In 2012 the fourth-generation Toledo went on sale and although it was worthy enough it was utterly forgettable. In 2018 it was still on sale – not that anybody noticed.
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Leon SC – putting on the style
Sixty years after the first Seat rolled off the lines the company no longer relied on other marques’ products to get by, aside from the Mii city car. And to prove that it had a rather tasty design language of its own, Seat launched the Leon SC in 2013 – it was one of the most attractive new cars on sale at the time.
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The Cupster concept
Arguably one of the least appealing concept cars ever created, the Ibiza-based Cupster looked like the result of driving Seat's small hatch underneath a car park barrier. Unveiled at the 2014 Worthersee GTi gathering, the Cupster was created to mark 30 years of Ibiza production.
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The Ateca – SEAT's first production SUV
Seat had been very slow to embrace SUVs but in 2016 it finally introduced its first – the Ateca. It looked sharp and with its VW mechanicals it was good to drive and cheap to run. No wonder the Ateca proved to be a smash hit for Seat.
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Cupra becomes a sub-brand
Just five years after we printed a series of stories on Seat's fight for survival, the company had turned around its fortunes to the point where it felt able to launch its own sporty sub-brand. Called Cupra, we revealed in August 2017 that the division's first product would be a sporty Ateca.
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Arona: SEAT's new small SUV
Several years after most contenders arrived, Seat's small SUV finally reached showrooms in 2017. The Arona was worth waiting for; when we tested it we reckoned that "No rival balances practicality and panache quite like it".
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SEAT's design revolution
Just a few weeks before Seat celebrated its 65th birthday we revealed the company's plans to completely overhaul the design of its cars. At the same time we also revealed that at last there was some good news to report on the company's finances, with sales on the up – but an operating margin that was still too low. Much of this turn around was due to Seat finally embracing SUVs.
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