SEAT 1400

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The first car produced by SEAT, the SEAT 1400 was a rebranded Fiat 1400, itself Fiat’s first integrated chassis model. The car was a small four door sedan: components were shipped as CKD kits from Italy and assembled by SEAT at their new plant near Barcelona between 1953 and 1964.

[edit] Chronology

Announced at the end of 1956, the SEAT 1400 B was a Spanish assembled version of the Fiat 1400 shown here

Production started on 13 November 1953.

By 1964, when the car was replaced by the SEAT 1500, 82.894 examples covering four distinctively different versions of the 1400 had been produced.

• The first SEAT 1400, offered between 1953 and 1955, incorporated a 1395 cc four cylinder watercooled Fiat engine with a claimed output of 44 bhp and top speed of 116 km/h (72 mph).
• The SEAT 1400 A, the first revision, launched for 1955 was a modernised version of the original 1400, based on the Fiat 1400 A which had appeared from Turin the previous year. Published power output was now raised to 50 bhp and the top speed to 125 km/h (78 mph).
• The SEAT 1400 B appearing for 1957 retained its predecessor’s bodywork but featured a revised front grill and offered a two tone paint scheme. In addition to the sedan, a five door station wagon and commercial delivery truck version were available. Claimed engine output and maximum speed for the sedan were now 58 bhp and 135 km/h (84 mph). This version of the 1400 would continue in production until 1964.
• The SEAT 1400 C was introduced in 1960. The modern Pininfarina styled body, came from the recently introduced Fiat 1800. The previous SEAT 1400 B remained in production: the two cars were offered in parallel, sharing the same engine, though the newer car was longer and, it appears, slightly heavier than the old. The decision to fit the old four cylinder unit in the new bodied SEAT rather than to tool up for assembly in Catalonia of the new six cylinder engines being fitted by Fiat in the new bodied cars appears to have been taken on cost grounds: disposable incomes in Spain at this time were far lower than those in Italy. In 1963 a five door estate version of the 1400 C appeared, featuring a two piece tailgate. The introduction of a diesel engined version would have to await the successor model, however.

[edit] External links

• SEAT 1400 history (Spanish)

[edit] Sources and further reading

• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 2008-04-20.
• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding Dutch Wikipedia article as of 2008-04-20

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