The SEAT 124 is a

small family car The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...

produced by the Spanish manufacturer

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

in its

Zona Franca, Barcelona Zona Franca (, also called in ca, Polígon Industrial de la Zona Franca) is a logistics and industrial area located in the Sants-Montjuïc district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Together with the adjacent Port of Barcelona it forms the neighb ...

and Landaben,

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

plants between 1968 and 1980. The car was very successful in Spain having sold 896,136 units,SEAT 124
''Museoseat.com.'' and was produced in 4-door, 5-door

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

(''Familiar'') and 2-door

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

(''Sport'') ( versions under various engines and trim levels.

History

The SEAT 124 model derived from the Italian

Fiat 124 The Fiat 124 is a small family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat between 1966 and 1974. The saloon superseded the Fiat 1300 and was the basis for several variants including a station wagon, a four-seater coupé ( 124 Sport Cou ...

car and represented a great step forward for the automotive era in Spain when it was introduced. It aimed at the middle class, as it combined generous offerings and livability but at the same time in an accessible to buy and own package. During its launch time SEAT already sold the

SEAT 1500 The SEAT 1500 was a Spanish-built 6-seater model of saloon and estate cars, based on the Italian Fiat 2300 and using a 1481 cc engine from the Fiat 1500. The 1500 was the successor to the SEAT 1400 C; it was manufactured from 1963 to 1973, wit ...

, SEAT 600D and

SEAT 850 The SEAT 850 was a car launched in 1966, based upon the Fiat 850. Originally only available with the same 2-door sedan body as used in Italy, two different 4-door versions also appeared in 1967. The very rare ''corto'' (short) used the bodywork de ...

models, and by the time the 124 model was retired it was succeeded by the

SEAT Ritmo The Fiat Ritmo is a small, front-engine, front-wheel drive family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat, launched in April 1978 at the Turin Motor show and offered in 3- and 5-door hatchback and cabriolet body styles – from 1978 to 1988 with t ...

, fabricated in Spain from 1979 onwards. In 1975 the model underwent a facelift by

Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...

; the circular front headlights were replaced by rectangular ones and its rear was altered amid several modifications, while the SEAT 124 and

SEAT 1430 The SEAT 1430 is a 4-door sedan made by SEAT in Spain from 1969 to 1975. The car was based on the FIAT 124 Special, but the front lights were the square ones from the FIAT 125 instead of round. The cockpit was almost identical to the Fiat ...

ranges were unified under a single model officially named SEAT 124D versión 75. In 1976 production of the car was transferred from the Zona Franca to the Landaben plant in

, newly acquired from

Authi The Authi car company of Pamplona, Spain, was founded in 1965 as a result of a collaboration between BMC (the British Motor Corporation) and NMQ ( Nueva Montaña Quijano). BMC needed a way to sell their cars in Spain, which at the time had str ...

, resulting in the elimination of the '124 Familiar' 5-door station wagon versions. The four-cylinder twin-barrel carburetted 1197 cc motor originally delivered 60 CV (DIN), however in 1973 a new derivative was implemented with the introduction of the SEAT 124 LS which offered 65 CV (DIN). The variants equipped with the Twin Cam motor, victorious for decades in all-type competition, were generally known as FL which had been the internal code name used by the brand. Its engine soon became famous for its nerve and offered high performance in many circumstances: either as a taxi cab, a police car, an ambulance, a hearse, or even a fire truck. As a race car, it won numerous competitions and trophies driven by pilots like

Salvador Cañellas Salvador Cañellas (born 1 December 1944) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and rally car racer from Spain. Born in Santa Oliva, Catalonia, Spain, Cañellas had his best year in 1970 when he finished fourth in the 50cc world champio ...

and Antonio Zanini amid others. Modified for this purpose in order to be used in rallies, its engine displacement was raised to reach as much as 2090 cc. In the 1977

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

, where Zanini finished third, the 124s were fitted with the same 1.8-liter 16-valve engine as the Fiat 131 Abarths. More Sport versions were made with 1600 cc (1970–72), 1800 cc (1972–75) and 2000 cc (1978–79). Its sibling, the

also originated from the Fiat 124 range when the latter received several elements borrowed from the higher-class

Fiat 125 The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommodat ...

and gave birth to the Fiat 124 Special edition presented in 1968.

Versions

* 1: SEAT 124 (FA) 1968-1971 * 2: SEAT 124 ''Lujo'' (FB) and SEAT 124 L (FB-02) 1968-1971 * 3: SEAT 124 D (FA-03) 1971-1975 * 4: SEAT 124 D Lujo (FB-03) 1971-1973 * 5: SEAT 124 LS (FB-05) 1973-1974 * 6: SEAT 124 D "Extras" (FB-11) 1974-1975 * 7: SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' (FL-00) 1975-1980 * 8: SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' LS (FL-03...) 1975-1980 * 9: SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' Especial 1430 ( FL-10/11/12) 1975-1980 * 10: SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' Especial 1600 (FL-40/45) 1976-1979 * 11: SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' Especial 1800 (FL-80/82) 1976-1978 * 12: SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' Especial 2000 (FL-90) 1978-1979 * 13: SEAT 124 5p (FJ) / SEAT 124 D 5p (FJ-02) / SEAT 124 D ''Versión ´75'' 5p (FN) 1969-1976

References

{{Early SEAT vehicles 124 1970s cars 1980s cars Cars introduced in 1968 Station wagons