The SEAT 127, launched in 1972, was a landmark model in the history of the brand. This is the chassis number 1 of the million plus units built, a car of revolutionary layout that became the pioneer of the supermini B-segment… (read more)
Launch: April 1972
End of production: End 1981
Price: 106,500 Pts.
Number built: 1,253,721 (including 127 Fura)
Petrol, 4 cylinders in-line
Position: At front, transversal
Bore x stroke: 65 x 68 mm
Capacity: 903 cc
Valvetrain: Overhead valves, 2 valves per cylinder
Carburettor: 1 single Bressel-Weber
Max. power: 47 HP at 6.200 rpm
Max. torque: 61.8 Nm at 3.500 rpm
Top speed: 140 km/h
Drive: Front-wheel drive
Gearbox: 4-speed manual, plus reverse
Clutch: Dry single-plate
Front suspension:
Independent, McPherson type with coil springs, dampers and anti-roll bar
Rear suspension:
Independent, with transversal leaf spring and adjustable dampers
Steering: Quick rack and pinion
135 SR-13
Front/rear: Discs/drums
Body: 2-box, 2-door sedan
Length/width/height: 3595/1527/1330 mm
Wheelbase: 2225 mm
Weight: 705 kg
The SEAT 127, launched in 1972, was a landmark model in the history of the brand. This is the chassis number 1 of the million plus units built, a car of revolutionary layout that became the pioneer of the supermini B-segment.
The basic features of the 127 were a revolution in the chronology of SEAT, which had already turned 20 as a car company. It was the first front-wheel drive SEAT, with the powertrain in transverse position at the front, and also the first with rack-and-pinion steering and McPherson suspension struts.
All this made it possible to fit the mechanics at the front and free up a large useful volume for the cabin and boot. Even the spare wheel was housed in the engine bay, so that the boot capacity of the 127 doubled that of the 850, a model of similar length that the 127 came to replace.
The engine was another of the great arguments of the 127. It was the lively 903cc, 47 HP block premiered in 1969 on the exclusive SEAT 850 Sport Spider, and offered sensational capabilities both in terms of driveability and performance and fuel efficiency.
The 127 was unveiled to the press in April 1972, in Lanzarote, and a few weeks later it was the great novelty of the Barcelona Motor Show. It went on sale immediately and the first units were delivered in June. Success was instantaneous: in just six months 50,000 units were produced.
Thus, in 1978 the 127 broke the record of 800,000 units built of the SEAT 600, and in 1980 it surpassed the million-unit barrier. It could be argued, then, that the driving-force role of Spanish mobility played by the 600 in the ’60s was inherited by the 127 in the ’70s.
Unit number 1 of the 127 that is preserved in the SEAT HISTÓRICOS Collection is painted white (with factory code 233) and has never been registered. As befits the first units of the model, it has a 2-door body, with a separated boot. At the end of 1972 an alternative 3-door version appeared, with a practical tailgate instead of a boot lid.
In both cases, the silhouette was modern and attractive; the waistline rising towards the rear window gave the car a fastback look, and the headlights were built into the body. In addition, the rear bench on the 3-door 127 could be folded down to increase the loading surface. Needless to say, in 1972 the 127 received the Spanish Car of the Year award.