SEVENTY YEARS OF SEAT

Sometimes a car does not have to be technologically advanced to cause a minor revolution in a country’s transportation. The SEAT 1400 was a sober-looking 5-6 seater saloon along the lines of the Standard Vanguard with a steering column gear change and a top speed of just 75 mph. But in 1953, the first example heralded the start of Spain’s first car manufacturer.

At that time, Spain was a largely agrarian nation with one car for every three thousand adults. In 1941 the government formed the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI) to develop the manufacture of cars and commercial vehicles. Seven years later, the Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo (SEAT, or Spanish Passenger Car Company) came into being via an official initiative and a conglomerate of private investors.

SEAT needed a partner company, and their eventual choice was Fiat. An agreement was signed on the 9^th May 1950, with Turin providing 7% of the share capital, technical assistance and a manufacturing licence. The initial Spanish-built product was the 1400, the first all-new post-war Fiat and their first monocoque built car, which debuted that year at the Geneva Motor Show.

The 1400 would be made in Barcelona, a city associated with General Motors Peninsular and Ford Motor Ibérica. It also had newly re-developed harbour facilities and easy access to European markets, elements that Fiat demanded. Assembly commenced in May 1953, and the first SEAT was officially registered on the 13^th November 1953. The local content level was 80%, although the instrument dials still bore Italian script, while petrol rationing had finally ended that year. SEAT’s relationship with Fiat would last until 1982.

At 128,675 pesetas, the 1400 was out of reach to most Spanish citizens as such an amount was the equivalent of 10 years’ wages. However, a SEAT display at the Barcelona Trade Fair in June 1954 attracted some 10,000 orders. The 1400A, following its Fiat parent, made its bow that year and offered the Spanish bourgeois motorist more chrome and power.

By 1955, SEAT built 3,000 units per year, increasing to 7,000 in the following year. 1956 also marked the debut of the 1400B, which boasted whitewall types and a distinctive central fog lamp. Two years later, the 1400B Especial offered greater performance.

SEAT also built the 1400 as a van in LWB form for the taxi market and offered diesel engines; Perkins was one supplier. It also served as an ambulance, and the 1400B became the first Civil Guard traffic car. The nation’s police forces also ordered the distinctive 1400 ‘Largo’, with an extra window between the doors. When the Fiat 1800-derived 1400C replaced the 1400B in 1960 after 99,043 units, it was made from 100% local parts, and SEAT had instigated a payment instalment scheme.

Today, the 1957 SEAT 600 is widely heralded as the car that brought mass motoring to Spain, but it was the 1400 that established the marque. It may have looked almost defiantly low-key – but it heralded an automotive revolution.