Испанияның экономикалық өркендеуінің символы – SEAT 600

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 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.

The Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo S. A., branded as SEAT, was born in 1950 as a joint venture of the Spanish state holding agency National Institute of Industry, six Spanish banks and Fiat. Almost all SEAT models up to 1982 were license built Fiat based cars, although the SEAT 1200/1430 Sport "Boca negra" and SEAT 133 were created in house by SEAT in the 1970s. Initially, some units of the original Italian model, the Fiat 600 –designed by Dante Giacosa and launched in 1955–, were imported to Spain, but soon the SEAT factory in Barcelona's Zona Franca began its own production based on this model, under agreement with Fiat. The first SEAT 600 manufactured left the production line on 27 May 1957. This unit was registered in Madrid on 5 December 1957 with the registration plate M 184018 and was in use until February 1985. This was not the first SEAT 600 registered, since the first one was registered in Barcelona on 8 June 1957 with the registration plate B 141141. Commercialization to the general public began on 24 June 1957. With an initial launching price of 65,000 pesetas (€390.66) –without taxes–,efn|To the price of a Seiscientos, 11,200 pesetas (€67.31) of the luxury tax and 12,150 pesetas (€73.02) of the registration tax had to be added, which had to be paid outright. Sales were favored by SEAT itself with the increase in production, the reduction of the price to 63,000 pesetas in 1964 –a price that was maintained until 1969– and the creation of Fiseat –SEAT's customer financing company– in 1967, which expedited the processing of the purchase and promoted the payment in installments. In 1971, one in every four cars circulating in the country was a SEAT 600. It was replaced by the less successful SEAT 133, the first vehicle designed by SEAT, as a modernized derivative of the SEAT 850. The SEAT 600 helped to start the Spanish miracle –the economic boom in Spain between 1959 and 1973– that came at the end of the slow recovery from the Spanish Civil War. It was the first car that came within the modest but rapidly growing economic means of most Spanish families from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. The vehicle has become a pop icon of the period. As of 2023, it is estimated that there are still about 10,000 Seiscientos in circulation in Spain, and there are more than a hundred fan clubs that organize meetings and excursions every weekend.

The design of the SEAT 600 is a two box two door four seater rear engined saloon. Its two initial series are the 600 (1957–1963) –unofficially known as 600 N to differentiate it from later versions– and the 600 D (1963–1970), both distinguishable by the use of suicide doors. In 1958, the 600 received its first modification in finishes and equipment incorporating chrome overriders in the bumpers, new headlamps and light levers. The 600 D has instead the front position lights located under the main headlamps with the indicators at their height on the sides, the lock embedded in the door opening handle and the start no longer with a lever, having adopted an ignition key system located in the center of the dashboard. In 1966, the 600 D underwent a restyling incorporating bumpers with more curved lines and rubber overriders, larger seats and cream colored wheels. The third series 600 E (1969–1973) has conventional doors, bigger headlamps, a more robust door locking system, the ignition lock next to the steering wheel with anti theft system, a different grille, a storage tray, a central ashtray, new upholstery, and a luminous water temperature indicator. The final production run is the 600 L and the 600 L Especial (1972–1973), which incorporate a triangular air vent in the C pillar to compensate the interior pressure when closing the doors.

Several versions derived from the SEAT 600 were manufactured with SEAT parts by other companies. Many of which were built by es –the Spanish branch of Siata– but cars were also modified by other carbody makers. Among the derivatives developed by Siata Española in its factory in Tarragona, the es, a commercial panel van derived form the 600 D, stands out, of which approximately 6,700 units were manufactured between 1961 and 1966 and were commercialized by SEAT. Other derivatives developed by Siata Española were:
es. A three box saloon version with two suicide doors of which twenty four units were manufactured in 1960.
es. A one box nine seater door less beach version, with the passengers in the second and third row facing each other, of which six units were manufactured on demand with a price of 159,300 pesetas (€957,41) each. es. A three box sporty saloon version with two conventional doors of which 598 units were manufactured in 1960–1971. es. A three box two seater sporty convertible roadster version with two conventional doors of which 228 units were manufactured in 1960–1962. es. A compact van with cargo, passenger and mixed versions of which 8,000 units were manufactured in 1967–1972. In 1972, Motor Ibérica took over the manufacturing of the van, which continued until 1980, replacing different components with those of newer SEAT cars. Counting all versions and updates, and all the names under which it was marketed, approximately 22,700 units were manufactured. Manufacturas Railly (MARSA), a carbody maker from Barcelona, developed the SEAT 600 Multiple, the version with SEAT parts of the Fiat 600 Multipla, a four door six seater MPV, but only about twenty units were sold between 1960 and 1962. Sporty versions of the SEAT 600 prepared for automobile competition were also developed. The most common ones were prepared by Abarth, but cars were also modified by Conti, Autolinea, and Zakspeed, and were equipped with SEAT 850 or SEAT 1430 engines –tuned up to capable of reaching –, also modifying other components such as brakes or wheels. They had taken part in several competition events, driven by pilots such as es.

The biggest issue with the SEAT 600 is the engine's water cooling system, which causes regular overheating when driving at low speed and overloaded –exceeding its maximum authorized mass–, something that used to be common. This is due to a radiator with little exposure to the outside air, a water pump and radiator fan driven by a weak belt, a delicate thermostat, and the common use of water as a coolant. Neither seat belts nor side view mirrors came as standard on any SEAT 600, which represents a safety issue. Being such a popular vehicle, it appears extensively in the Spanish cinema of the time, even becoming the center of the plot as in the film Ya tenemos coche (1958), directed by es, in which a family struggles to buy a Seiscientos. It is also widely used in later Spanish period films and television series depicting the era, such as in Cuéntame cómo pasó (2001–2023) in which the first car the protagonist family has is a SEAT 800. It has even appeared in the lyrics of songs, such as in the 1973 song "Adelante hombre del 600" by Moncho Alpuente. Churriana de la Vega (Granada) –2011– and Martos (Jaén) –2014–. On 9 September 2017, as the closing event of the 60th anniversary of the first Seiscientos, SEAT organized at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Montmeló the highest concentration of SEAT 600s ever. The Guinness World Records adjudicator confirmed that with a total of 787 SEAT 600s on parade they broke the previous world record of 344 SEATs –of any model –, achieved in 2016.