Cars with history: Seat 600

The cars that made history in Spain are the subject of the latest articles we have published in the Cars with History section. After the Simca 1000 and the Renault 4-4, next comes an old Spanish acquaintance, the Seat 600.

The Seat 600 was not only a car that enjoyed great popularity in Spain, but also a genuine social revolution. In 1957 Spain was mired in a dark period from an industrial (and social) point of view, more akin to the Middle Ages than to anything else, with no comparison to the boom Europe was experiencing in those years. The Seat 600 was the change Spain needed, the change that would allow most Spaniards to think about buying a car.

Designed by Pininfarina and recognised by the coachbuilder himself as “one of the best designs I have created”, the 600 was the first Fiat car with a rear-mounted engine. It was presented by Fiat at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show. The newly created Seat saw in the 600 a unique opportunity, so it began importing the first units, and later started producing it under licence from Fiat. After importing the first models from Italy, the first Spanish-built 600 was registered in 1957.

In those days buying a car was not as easy as going to a dealership, paying the 65,000 pesetas asked for the 600 and taking it home. No. You had to go through a whole series of “procedures” that were easily resolved if you were a friend, relative or acquaintance of certain government figures. Some dealers, it must be said, took advantage of the situation by loading the final price with a list of “compulsory optional extras” that had to be paid at a surcharge. The wait for the new 600 reached four years in some cases.

Nevertheless, little by little the 600 became increasingly common on Spanish roads. It began with the first variants sold in Spain, some of which were never seen even in Italy. From the outset there was a convertible version, with a canvas roof that rolled up and was tied at the rear. In 1964 one of the most sought-after examples today appeared, the Seat 800 four-door; it was 18 cm longer than the 600, with a body built by the Barcelona company Carrocerías Costa, and remained in production until 1968. Between 1963 and 1968 there was also a commercial version, the Fornichetta, with around 10,000 units built. Even the Meliá hotels in Palma de Mallorca indulged in ordering some open-top models, the so-called Playero.

As for tuners, the 600 did not fall short there either. In Italy, Abarth gave it more muscle, while in our country some tuners modified it, almost always using parts from Abarth itself. Conti, Autotécnica, Speedwell… all of them at some point unveiled their 600 tuning.

In 1966 the 600 was restyled, with a curved bumper with rubber guards. The seats were replaced, the hubcaps became flat, and eyebrow visors were fitted over the headlights. The 600 E arrived with the end of production of the Fiat 600 in Italy and with another restyling: the doors now opened like those of modern cars (the early models had hinged doors on the centre pillar), the front “moustache” was replaced, deflectors were fitted to the front windows, and the headlights were now larger.

As everyone knows (who hasn’t seen a 600 driving along with its engine lid propped open in summer?), the 600 had temperature problems, initially blamed on the amount of luggage people placed on the roof rack, which prevented air from flowing freely over the car and back towards the engine’s ventilation openings. The truth is that when the heat was intense, the 600 overheated even with nothing on top, and for some owners summer was a time of worry about engine temperature.

The last version of the 600 was the 600 L, a model that already featured more elaborate and modern trim. This variant was the last built in Spain, until production ended in 1973. It incorporated a new 767 cc engine producing 32.5 horsepower, reaching a top speed of 120 km/h.

On 3 August 1973 the last 600 left the plant, with 799,419 units built at the factory in the Zona Franca of Barcelona. The event has been immortalised in the video I add below. It does not appear in the video, but the last 600 rolled onto the streets with the following slogan placed on the car by Seat’s own employees: Born a prince, die a king.

Video | YouTube

Source | Museo Seat, El Portal del 600