SEAT Marked 40 Years Since The Last 600 Rolled Off The Production Line

Four decades ago last week, the last SEAT 600 rolled off the assembly line in SEAT's Zona Franca factory in Barcelona. It was a vehicle that beaconed a turning point in Spanish society, championing the beginning of widespread car ownership in the country. The 600 is the icon that kick-started motoring in Spain during the years of slow recovery after the Spanish Civil War. No other model has become so embedded in Spain’s collective subconscious; many older drivers in Spain today recall being taught to drive in a 600 by their fathers. The car was a fixture in the everyday life of many Spanish families in the ’50s, ’60s and the ’70s.

OneShift Editorial Team

05 Aug 2013

Over the course of its 16-year production run, almost 800,000 SEAT 600 models were produced, including the four-door SEAT 800 that was manufactured between 1963 and 1968, but that was commonly referred to as a 600.

Initially, the SEAT 600 was equipped with a 633 cc engine that delivered an output of 18 hp, which remained in production for six years. The engine was upgraded to 767 cc with an increase in output to 25 hp and later to 28 hp on the D, E and L-Especial versions, which were manufactured for the remaining ten years of the 600’s lifespan.

Aside from its ruggedness, the 600 had plenty of other virtues: first of all, its body design took full advantage of its 3.3-metre length, with a passenger compartment that in theory accommodated four occupants comfortably, and five sparingly – though in reality, several more would often be squeezed in.

The 600 reached a top speed of 115 km/h (71 mph) and could cover one kilometer from standstill in 45.5 seconds – performance figures not to be sniffed at considering the car was fitted with an engine that put out 28 hp at most. Moreover, fuel consumption was 10 litres per 100 km in city driving (equivalent to 28.2 mpg) and 6.5 litres (43.5 mpg) on the open road, with a range of 461 km on a single tank of fuel.

The 600 was not only the starting point of this evolution, but a truly ubiquitous model that put Spain on wheels – a genuine icon of car ownership in the country. This is backed up by the fact that back in 1970, one in of every four cars on Spanish roads was a 600.

Credits: Oneshift News Team