The SEAT Inca (''Typ'' 9K) was a
van
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...
and
panel van 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, a chair ...
between 1996 and 2004. It was designed and assembled in Spain, based on the
SEAT Ibiza Mark 2. It was first shown at the
Barcelona Motor Show of 1995.
Design
The SEAT Inca had two rear wing doors which, because they were non symmetrical, were supposed to facilitate loading and unloading. Capable of carrying a payload of
and towing a
[SEAT Inca owners manual] braked trailer the Inca proved to be a strong work horse in many markets. The Inca was awarded the ''Comercial do Ano'' ("Commercial vehicle of the Year") award in Portugal in 1997.
[Palmares SEAT http://www.seat.pt/pt/generator/su/pt/SEAT/site/campanhas/DesportivoDoAno/main,lang=pt.html]
File:MHV Seat Inca 02.jpg, SEAT Inca panel van, rear view
File:Seat inca 2004.jpg, Interior
Performance
The Inca came with 1.4 and 1.6
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ' ...
s, and was also available with the tried and tested 1.9-liter (1896cc)
indirect injection
Indirect injection in an internal combustion engine is fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber.
Gasoline engines equipped with indirect injection systems, wherein a fuel injector delivers the fuel at some p ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...
from the
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...
and Volkswagen Polo, or a
Turbocharged Direct Injection
TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor.
TDI engines are used in motor vehicles sold by th ...
(TDI) diesel in certain countries.
A 1.9-liter
Suction Diesel Injection
The SDI engine is a design of naturally aspirated (NA) direct injection diesel engine developed and produced by Volkswagen Group for use in cars and vans, along with marine engine ( Volkswagen Marine) and Volkswagen Industrial Motor application ...
(SDI) direct injection diesel with electronic control and improved economy over the indirect injection engine was also available from 1999 onwards.
Sales
From its launch in 1997 until end of production in 2004, more than 115,000 SEAT Inca cars were produced and sold. The annual production of SEAT Inca delivery/panel van (without side windows) and Kombi (with side windows and removable seats that could be used for cargo or passengers) manufactured at SEAT Martorell are shown below. SEAT facilities only; corrected 7/11/2018 from cited Volkswagen and SEAT annual reports of 1997 :
Rebadges
![VW Caddy II rear 20090329](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/VW_Caddy_II_rear_20090329.jpg)
The SEAT Inca was rebadged by SEAT's parent company
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
and sold under the name
Volkswagen Caddy
The Volkswagen Caddy is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle (M-segment) produced by the German automaker Volkswagen Group since 1980. It is sold in Europe and in other markets around the world. The Volkswagen Caddy was first introduced in Nor ...
(''Typ'' 9K). Its
badge-engineered
In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a manu ...
Volkswagen stablemate was identical in every respect apart from some (easily interchangeable) branding logos, and the front grille.
In the beginning of the 2000s, the
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
had decided to shift the marketing focus of the SEAT brand to target the younger driver with an emphasis on more sporty models. Despite this move, the Caddy and the Inca continued to be produced at the same manufacturing facilities, until the Inca was discontinued in June 2004.
The Inca name was then dropped from the line up of SEAT, but the Caddy was replaced with a new variant based on the platform of the
Volkswagen Golf V.
References
External links
SEAT corporate website
{{Modern SEAT vehicles
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
Vehicles introduced in 1995
Cars of Spain