The modern day Fiat 500 has its roots deeply buried into the 600, but few remember that Seat used to produce its own version of the vehicle, under license by the Italian automaker.
Dubbed the Seat 600, it was made in nearly 800,000 units, and it was so popular in its second year of assembly that the company had to multiply its production sixfold.
With the city car blowing 60 candles off its birthday cake, the Spanish manufacturer decided to celebrate its anniversary by restoring a Convertible that had been sitting for the past 25 years. 1,500 man-hours later, a team of 30 people completed a full restoration.
One of the greatest challenges included tracking down more than 1,000 original parts that were changed, but the result is worth it, as the 600 “is almost better than when it originally left the factory”, according to the brand’s engineer at the Technical Center, Angel Lahoz, who was responsible for the project.
Some of the features that stand out are the light blue exterior, which required 15 liters of paint, the exclusive fabric that was made from 50 meters of material, the manually operated roof, and original steering wheel.
And since it’s uncommon to bring a Seat 600 Convertible back to life, the carmaker has it on display at Automobile Barcelona, where it will remain until May 21.
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