SEAT Celebrate 70 Years With The SEAT Heritage Collection
In celebration for 70 years of SEAT, 2020 can be remembered through the experience of the SEAT Heritage Collection. A special collection to commemorate the milestones and special vehicles produced over the years. No matter their purpose – from peculiar cars, vehicles for celebrities, celebratory purposes and authentic inventions – 16 rare vehicles stand out as the pinnacles in SEAT history.
From the first electric SEAT – the Toledo – accompanying the Olympic flame on its last stretch towards the opening ceremony at the Barcelona 92 Olympics, to the SEAT Leon Trencadís, there is plenty to celebrate.
Following from the Barcelona 92 Olympics, SEAT continued creating history after the 16 lead batteries that increased the car weight from 1.015 to 1.545 kilos but allowed 55 km to be travelled in an urban cycle use. Enough range for the electric SEAT Toledo to also make way for the athletes during the marathon race on the final day of the Olympics.
In 1956, based on the first SEAT model, the SEAT 1400 Visitas was developed. Followed by the SEAT 600 in 1964 – a convertible minivan. In 1982, SEAT received a special request on behalf of the visit from John Paul II. Resulting in the SEAT Panda "Papamóvil". In 1986, a transformed SEAT was gifted to the King of Spain, Felipe VI – named the SEAT Ibiza Rey or Ibiza King.
Another milestone includes the SEAT Leon CUPRA “Pies Descalzos” – “Barefoot” in English – named after the foundation for displaced children in Latin America created by the Colombian singer Shakira. Autographed on the hood, the car was also known as SEAT Leon Shakira, as it was decorated to the liking of the artist, in lilac, both body and interior. One of the two units produced remained in the SEAT Heritage Collection. Also in 1986, the rally driver José María Serviá surprised the dirt rally championship with a SEAT Ibiza 4x4.
Skipping forward, a key milestone in 2014 saw the iconic SEAT Leon CUPRA SC 280 with the "Nürburgring record", breaking the 8-minute barrier in the legendary Nürburgring (7: 58.44 to perform the lap) for the first time in a front-wheel drive production car.
2014 also saw the SEAT Ibiza Cupster, the most successful open-roof model since the 1969 SEAT 850 Spider, which proved to be the wrong time for SEAT to put an open-roof model in production as the SEAT Marbella Pick Up was about to be built. It was a simpler and more feasible version than the Marbella Playa concept, which did not go into production either – with the milestone element being the cargo box separated from the cabin only by a protective grille.
In 2017 the striking SEAT Ateca “Mattracks”, made for a media presentation at the SEAT Ateca Snow Experience. Perhaps the most striking model in SEAT history, featuring a set of snow tracks produced by Mattracks replaced the wheels of an Ateca 2.0 TDI 190 PS 4Drive.
As the latest ground-breaking milestone in SEAT history, the foil wrapped decorative mosaic with which Gaudí brought to art the reuse of broken tiles – the SEAT Leon Trencadís – an artistic camouflage, applied during the final stage of development of the fourth-generation SEAT Leon. On display, this model is a reminder of the SEAT roots and values. The Trencadís highlights unequivocally, that the model catches a glimpse of a SEAT “Created in Barcelona”.
To find out more about SEAT’s history or to experience SEAT for yourself, please contact Caffyns SEAT today.