The SEAT Arosa (''Typ'' 6H) 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 i ...

that was manufactured by the Spanish automaker

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 ...

from 1997 to 2004. The model débuted in March 1997 at the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by t ...

, while its facelifted version was presented in October 2000 at the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...

. It shared a

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

with the

Volkswagen Lupo The Volkswagen Lupo (''Typ'' 6X) is a city car that was produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen, from 1998 to 2005. It shares most of its aspects with the Volkswagen Group's SEAT Arosa, both derived from the Volkswagen Polo Mk3 platfor ...

and was mostly identical apart from equipment, styling and trim levels. The successor,

SEAT Mii The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family (NSF) series of models, unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up started in December 2011 at t ...

, started production in December 2011.

Pre facelift (1997–2000)

Named after

Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa is a Spanish municipality in the Province of Pontevedra, Galicia. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia. History The present site of Vilagarcía has been occupied since prehistori ...

, a municipality in the

province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, ...

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") , ...

, it was only available as a three door, four-seater

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

. The Arosa, launched in 1997, was to a large extent identical to Volkswagen's own city car, which was introduced later in the end of 1998,

, and both cars were based on the Volkswagen Group A00 platform, a shortened version of the A03 platform used by the larger

Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car ( B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. Histor ...

and

SEAT Ibiza The SEAT Ibiza is a supermini car that has been manufactured by Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since 1984. It is SEAT's best-selling car. The Ibiza is named after the Spanish island of Ibiza and was the second SEAT model to be named after a Spa ...

. The Czech motor vehicle manufacturer, Škoda, has also planned the own version of Arosa by 1998, but it was never officially introduced. The Arosa was initially manufactured at a Volkswagen plant in

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and only in May 1998 was the production moved to SEAT facilities in

Martorell Martorell () is a municipality that forms part of the Baix Llobregat comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobregat and Anoia rivers. It has three railway stations - ...

, Spain. The Arosa was designed by the same man who designed the

Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver P ...

16.4,

Jozef Kabaň Jozef Kabaň (born 4 January 1973) is a Slovak automobile designer. He started his career as a designer at Volkswagen. In 2003 he moved to Audi as an exterior design assistant. In 2007 he advanced to the position of Chief of Exterior Design at Au ...

. Production lasted from February 1997 to August 2000. File:Seat Arosa front 20080722.jpg ,

Arosa (pre facelift) front File:Seat Arosa rear 20080722.jpg ,

Arosa (pre facelift) rear

Facelift (2000–2004)

The model later received a facelift in October 2000. The Arosa replaced the SEAT Marbella in the Spanish brand's lineup, but itself was not replaced by any SEAT, when production ceased in July 2004. A successor eventually arrived in January 2012, with the Mii. Apart from its exterior restyling, the facelift model featured a restyled interior, with a new dashboard. Due to the decision taken by Volkswagen, to use the Fox instead of developing any genuine replacement for the Lupo, resulted in SEAT being unable to produce their own version. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, 2,500 Arosas found homes in the country in 2003, accounting for around seven per cent of the firm’s sales. Production lasted from September 2000 to July 2004. File:2004 SEAT Arosa S 1.0 facelift Front.jpg ,

Arosa (facelift) front File:2004 SEAT Arosa S 1.0 facelift Rear.jpg ,

Arosa (facelift) rear ..

Engines

The Arosa was available with the following units:''(also the source for technical data in the infobox)''

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 * 1.0 L (999 cc) I4, 8v OHC, 37 kW (50 PS), 86 N·m (63.4 ft·lbf) * 1.4 L (1390 cc) I4, 8v OHC, 44 kW (60 PS), 116 N·m (85.6 ft·lbf) * 1.4 L (1390 cc) I4, 16v

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

, 74 kW (101 PS), 128 N·m (94.4 ft·lbf)

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 ...

s * 1.4 L (1422 cc)

TDI TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail Fuel injection#Direct injection, direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor. TDI engines are u ...

I3, 6v OHC, 55 kW (75 PS), 195 N·m (143.8 ft·lbf) * 1.7 L (1716 cc) SDI I4, 8v OHC, 44 kW (60 PS), 115 N·m (84.8 ft·lbf) All engines came with a five speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...

, with a four speed automatic optional on the 1.4 (44 kW).

Concept models

At the

Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...

in September 2001, SEAT presented two SEAT Arosa based concept cars: * the 'SEAT Arosa Racer' * the 'SEAT Arosa City Cruiser'

Sales and production figures

Since its launch in 1997 up to 2004, more than 175,000 SEAT Arosa cars have been sold and produced. The total production per year of SEAT Arosa cars, manufactured in SEAT and other Audi/Volkswagen group plants, is shown below :

Awards

*''Golden Steering Wheel'' 1997 *''Utilitário do Ano Award'' 1998, in Portugal Palmares SEAT http://www.seat.pt/pt/generator/su/pt/SEAT/site/campanhas/DesportivoDoAno/main,lang=pt.html

References

External links

''Der Spiegel'' article on the SEAT Arosa 3L

SEAT Arosa image gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seat Arosa

Arosa , neighboring_municipalities= Alvaneu, Davos, Langwies, Lantsch/Lenz, Molinis, Peist, Schmitten, Tschiertschen, Vaz/Obervaz, Wiesen , twintowns = Fukumitsu (Japan) Arosa is a town and a municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton o ...

City cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles 2000s cars Cars introduced in 1997