The SEAT 600 is a
city car
The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the European Commission. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined.
A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market in ...
made in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
by
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), ...
from May 1957 until August 1973 under licence from
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
. It helped to start the
Spanish miracle
The Spanish miracle ( es, el milagro español) refers to a period of exceptionally rapid development and growth across all major areas of economic activity in Spain during the latter part of the Francoist regime, from 1959 to 1974, in which GD ...
(economic boom of 1959–1973) that came at the end of the slow recovery from the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. It was a relatively inexpensive vehicle (then 60,000
Spanish peseta
The peseta (, ),
* ca, pesseta, was the currency of Spain between 1868 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a ''de facto'' currency used in Andorra (which had no national currency with legal tender).
Etymology
The name of th ...
s) and was the first car that came within the modest but rapidly growing economic means of most Spanish families from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. The vehicle has become an icon of the period.
The
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), ...
company was born as a joint venture of the Spanish state holding agency
National Institute of Industry
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, six Spanish banks and
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
- almost all SEAT models up to 1982 were license-built Fiat-based cars, although the
1200/1430 Sport "''Boca negra''" and
133 133 may refer to:
*133 (number)
* AD 133
*133 BC
*133 (song)
*133 (New Jersey bus) 133 may refer to:
*133 (number)
* AD 133
*133 BC
*133 (song) 133 may refer to:
*133 (number)
*AD 133
*133 BC
*133 (song)
*133 (New Jersey bus) 133 may refer to:
* ...
were created in-house by SEAT in the 1970s.
Up to 797,319 SEAT 600s and 18,000 SEAT 800s were made until 1973. They were exported to Argentina, Poland, and Finland. The Fiat version enjoyed far less success in its homeland than the Spanish model, probably because the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
market was more advanced than the Spanish at the time.
Among the reasons for ending production were the thin and weak
B pillars, which made
seat belt
A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...
installation very difficult. The SEAT 600 was replaced by the far less successful
SEAT 133
The SEAT 133 is a small rear-engined car designed and sold by SEAT in Spain from 1974 until 1979. The car used the chassis and engine of the by then defunct Fiat/SEAT 850 and featured a new body in the style of the contemporary, somewhat smaller a ...
, a modernized derivative of the
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 ...
designed by SEAT.
Technical specifications
The car was technically very basic. It was a license-built
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Fiat 600
The Fiat 600 ( it, Seicento, ) is a rear-engine, water-cooled city car, manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles.
Measuring only ...
of 1955 with a rear-engined/rear wheel-drive layout. The engine was a four-cylinder, water-cooled unit originally with a displacement of 633 cc producing and later 767 cc, yielding at 4600 rpm.
Versions
![Seat 600 red hl TCE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Seat_600_red_hl_TCE.jpg)
The two initial series were the 600 and the 600 D two-door
saloon, distinguishable by the use of
"suicide doors". The third-series 600 E had conventional doors, bigger
headlamp
A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...
s, a different plastic
grille
Grill or grille may refer to:
Food
* Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function
* Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...
, and other improvements. The final production run was the 600 L Especial, produced only for a few months in 1973. The design of the SEAT 600 was a two-door saloon (two-door, rear engine).
A commercial body called the SEAT 600 Formichetta was also available.
SEAT 800
![SEAT 800](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/SEAT_800.jpg)
A slightly longer, four-door saloon version of the same car, the SEAT 800, was launched in September 1963 and built up to 1968. It was also known as a four-door 600, although the official designation was 800. The SEAT 800 is the four-door derivative of the 600; it had front suicide doors and rear conventional doors mounted on the same B-pillar. This car was only built in Spain.
Tunings
Tuned cars also were produced. The most common ones were prepared by
Abarth
Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and Car tuning, performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy, Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a ...
, but cars were also modified by
Conti
Conti is an Italian surname.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 63.5% of all known bearers of the surname ''Conti'' were residents of Italy (frequency 1:756), 11.8% of the United States (1:24,071), 9.2% of Brazil (1:17,439), 6.3% of Argentina ...
, Autolinea, and
Zakspeed
Zakspeed () is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and after that run by his son Peter Zakowski. It is based in Niederzissen, Rhineland-Palatinate, around from the Nürburgring circuit.
1973 to 1981: Saloon and s ...
. They were equipped with
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 ...
or
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 ...
engines, tuned up to . The brakes and wheels were also changed.
Motorsport
The SEAT 600 has taken part in several competition events, driven by pilots such as Antonio Zanini.
[Algunos rallyes locales de copiloto con Miguel Casas, Hansi Bäbler y Miguel Espinet con coches variados: Seat 600-D, Steyr-Puch, etc. http://www.antoniozanini.com/palmares/]
Notes
The Seiscientos was also known as ''pelotilla'' (little ball), ''seílla'', or ''seíta'' (both stand for little SEAT) and ''ombligo'' (navel), because it was very common.
References
External links
Fiat 600 Club, ArgentinaSeiscientos.org600-Ehttp://www.pruebas.pieldetoro.net/web/pruebas/ver.php?ID=923 600-L Especia
600 Abarth 2000Road Tests
Club coches clásicos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seat 600
Francoist Spain
600
__NOTOC__
600 ( DC) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 600 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the ...
Rear-engined vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
City cars
Sedans
Cars introduced in 1957
1960s cars
1970s cars
Cars of Spain