SEAT Ronda
Encyclopedia
The SEAT Ronda is a small family car produced by the Spanish automaker SEAT
from 1982 to 1986, and styled by Rayton Fissore in collaboration with the Technical Centre in Martorell. The Ronda was also briefly sold in the United Kingdom as the SEAT Málaga hatchback.
The SEAT Ronda was a restyled SEAT Ritmo which in its turn derived from the Fiat Ritmo, however the Arbitration Chamber of Paris declared in 1983 that differences between those cars were important enough so as not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo. The most visible external design differences between a Ritmo and a Ronda are rectangular headlights on the Ronda in place of the round ones featured on the Ritmo, different tail lights and panels, and changed door handles. Mechanically, there were also some differences.
The Ronda featured a boot capacity of 370 litres which could be increased to 1,250 litres by folding rear seats.
Petrol
Diesel
The launch of that model though sparked a lawsuit from Fiat against SEAT, as the former claimed the car was still too similar to a car in Fiat's own range, the Fiat Ritmo. In defence of SEAT, the then president of SEAT, Juan Miguel Antoñanzas, showed a Ronda to the press with all the parts different from the Fiat Ritmo painted in bright yellow, to highlight the differences. An El País journalist who covered the trial claimed that the result was spectacular.
The case was eventually taken to the Arbitration Chamber of Paris which in 1983 declared that differences between both cars were important enough so as not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo, ending the dispute in favour of SEAT. This also meant that SEAT was free to export the Ronda, although the car never sold particularly well outside of Spain. Rumour at the time had it that Fiat was angry because the Ronda restyling was in fact too close to their own planned restyling for the Fiat Ritmo, which they had to scrap.
SEAT
SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....
from 1982 to 1986, and styled by Rayton Fissore in collaboration with the Technical Centre in Martorell. The Ronda was also briefly sold in the United Kingdom as the SEAT Málaga hatchback.
The SEAT Ronda was a restyled SEAT Ritmo which in its turn derived from the Fiat Ritmo, however the Arbitration Chamber of Paris declared in 1983 that differences between those cars were important enough so as not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo. The most visible external design differences between a Ritmo and a Ronda are rectangular headlights on the Ronda in place of the round ones featured on the Ritmo, different tail lights and panels, and changed door handles. Mechanically, there were also some differences.
The Ronda featured a boot capacity of 370 litres which could be increased to 1,250 litres by folding rear seats.
Powertrain
The engines were:Petrol
- 1.2 1193 cc 63 bhp 88 newton metre
- 1.5 1461 cc 86 bhp 116 newton metre
- 2.0 1995 cc 120 bhp
Diesel
- 1.7 D 1714 cc 56 bhp 98 newton metre
The dispute with Fiat
In 1982 took place the end of the co-operation between SEAT and the automaker Fiat which had lasted almost 30 years. Conforming to the end of partnership agreement signed by the two automakers, SEAT had to quickly restyle its entire model range in order to be able to offer its models on sale, so that its cars would be now more distinct to those of the Italian firm. This would be marked by a change in SEAT's own logo and the first car under the new SEAT logo without Fiat involvement appeared that same year in 1982 : this was the SEAT Ronda.The launch of that model though sparked a lawsuit from Fiat against SEAT, as the former claimed the car was still too similar to a car in Fiat's own range, the Fiat Ritmo. In defence of SEAT, the then president of SEAT, Juan Miguel Antoñanzas, showed a Ronda to the press with all the parts different from the Fiat Ritmo painted in bright yellow, to highlight the differences. An El País journalist who covered the trial claimed that the result was spectacular.
The case was eventually taken to the Arbitration Chamber of Paris which in 1983 declared that differences between both cars were important enough so as not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo, ending the dispute in favour of SEAT. This also meant that SEAT was free to export the Ronda, although the car never sold particularly well outside of Spain. Rumour at the time had it that Fiat was angry because the Ronda restyling was in fact too close to their own planned restyling for the Fiat Ritmo, which they had to scrap.