SEAT 600

SEAT does not build many cars like the SEAT 600: a 2-door Sedan (automobile) / saloon (600) / 4-door Sedan (automobile) / saloon (800) with 633 cc, built from 1957 to 1973 at the height of the post-war boom. Its designer of record is Dante Giacosa.

The story

The SEAT 600 is a city car made in Spain by SEAT from 27 May 1957 to 3 August 1973, built under license from Fiat on the original Italian Fiat 600, designed by Dante Giacosa. It was offered in two-door saloon body style rear engine layout, although a four-door version was also offered as SEAT 800. It is considered a pop icon of the Spanish economic miracle.

Measuring only 3.322 m (10.90 ft) long, it was launched in 1957 at an initial price of 65,000 pesetas (€390.66) without taxes. SEAT manufactured up to 797,319 SEAT 600s – and 18,200 SEAT 800s – at its factory in Barcelona's Zona Franca. Almost ten percent of the production was exported to countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Poland, and Portugal. It was the best-selling car in Spain in 1958–1966, and in 1968, and in Finland in 1971–1973.

What is underneath

Under the skin sits 633 cc; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 590–635 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. The layout matters: the engine hangs behind the rear axle, a layout that gives ferocious traction out of a corner and a reputation to match on the way in. The wheelbase is 2000 mm (600) / 2180 mm (800). 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 133 followed it; it was built at Barcelona (Zona Franca), Spain. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Fiat 500, the Nissan Skyline, the Dodge Challenger. 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 600 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.