The SEAT 128 was a sporting three-door hatchback coupé made in Barcelona from 1976 to 1980. Essentially the Fiat 128 3P Berlinetta with SEAT badges, it was marketed as “Three Times SEAT” but never sold in large numbers.
SEAT 128 at a glance
| Maker | SEAT, Barcelona |
|---|---|
| Production | 1976–1980 |
| Basis | Fiat 128 3P Berlinetta |
| Body | three-door hatchback coupé |
| Design | Fiat Centro Stile |
| Engines | 1.2-litre and 1,430 cc, from the Fiat 124 family |
| Assembly | body panels shipped from Turin to Barcelona |
| Marketing | “Three Times SEAT” |
| Built | 31,893 |
The material on this model is thin: this page is based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the SEAT 128.
History of the SEAT 128
A Fiat built in Barcelona
The 128 was designed by Fiat Centro Stile, and the Fiat version, the 128 3P, had gone on sale in Italy a year earlier. SEAT did not tool up for the body locally: the panels were shipped from Turin to the company’s Barcelona plant for assembly. The result was a car identical in shape to the Italian original, but with the engines the Spanish market knew best, the 1.2-litre unit and the 1,430 cc engine from the Fiat 124 family.
Three times SEAT
SEAT advertised the car as “Three Times SEAT”, a reference to its combination of sportiness, versatility and looks, and aimed it at wealthy young drivers. It did not work. The 128 arrived in a period of economic recession and transition in Spain, and most buyers preferred the smaller, cheaper SEAT 127. In four years of production only 31,893 cars were built, a small number by SEAT standards of the time.
The Sport editions
Late in the model’s life SEAT offered special editions of the 128 3P under the name SEAT 128 3P Sport, including a 3P Sport 1.100. They differed from the standard car only in visual details, and they did nothing to change the model’s modest sales record.
Design and features
- Hatchback practicality: a three-door body with a tailgate, unusual in a sporting coupé of the period.
- Proven engines: the 1.2-litre and 1,430 cc units from the Fiat 124 family.
- Italian design: bodywork by Fiat Centro Stile, shipped to Spain as panels.
- Rare today: fewer than 32,000 built in four years.
SEAT 128 versions
- 128 3P: the standard three-door hatchback coupé.
- 128 3P Sport: cosmetic special edition.
- 128 3P Sport 1.100: smaller-engined version of the Sport edition.
The 128 shared its engines with the SEAT 124, and its cheaper stablemate was the SEAT 127. More Spanish cars are in the SEAT collection.
Sources
- SEAT 128, English Wikipedia: history, engines, production total, variants
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