SEAT 127

SEAT does not build many cars like the SEAT 127: a 3 and 5-door hatchback / 2 and 4-door fastback saloon with 903 cc OHV I4, built from 1972 to 1982 as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry.

The story

The SEAT 127 is a supermini produced by the Spanish automaker SEAT between the spring of 1972 and 1982, a rebadged Fiat 127 built in Spain. SEAT did also offer versions with rear side doors, which were never built in Italy. SEAT produced 1,238,166 units of the 127 between 1972 and 1982.

What is underneath

Under the skin sits 903 cc OHV I4; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 800 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Its place in the line

Where it sits in SEAT's history is not in doubt: the SEAT 850 came before it; the SEAT Fura followed it; it was built at Barcelona (Zona Franca), Spain. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Renault 5, the Volkswagen Passat, the Lancia Stratos. Nearby in the SEAT catalogue sit the SEAT 124 and the SEAT 133.

The money

MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the SEAT 127 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.