The SEAT Ritmo was a C-segment compact car and the replacement for the veteran SEAT 124, and the first predecessor of the current Leon. It was the last SEAT launched still in the ’70s and the first mass produced SEAT with a name instead of a figure.

Until the launch of the Ritmo, all SEATs had been designated by a figure, either corresponding to the engine capacity (1400, 600...) or the internal code (124, 131...). Ritmo’s layout breakthrough (the first front-engine, front-wheel drive compact car of the brand) led to a name that broke with the past.

The SEAT Ritmo was launched in April 1979, at the Barcelona Motor Show. That year it got Spain’s Car of the Year award, which a decade earlier the first 124 had also received. Within ten years, the mid-size car layout had undergone a revolution. From a classic three-box saloon in the 124 (front engine, rear-wheel drive), now the Ritmo was a modern hatchback.

However, the Ritmo had a precedent in the SEAT range: the 1976 SEAT 128-3P. It was only three years in production and had only three doors, but it was almost a "compact" car and had a tailgate, so it anticipated the layout of the future Ritmo, in addition to its powertrain line-up.

The Ritmo was available with two different engines (the well-known 64 HP, 1,197cc and 77 HP, 1,438cc) and two trim levels (L and CL), which combined to offer three versions: Ritmo 65 L, 65 CL and 75 CL. As can be seen, the power figure served to identify the engine used (a system also used later in the Panda and the Ronda). All versions had a 5-door body and 4-speed gearbox.

In November 1980 the Ritmo D was launched, powered by a 1.7, 55 HP diesel engine. It was the first front-wheel drive compact diesel car on the domestic market. In addition to the high-end 75 CLX version, also from 1980 (with 5-speed gearbox), in early 1982 the rare Ritmo Crono 100 was unveiled, powered by a 1.6, 95 HP twin-cam engine.

It was the Ritmo’s swansong, because at the 1982 Barcelona Motor Show the new Ronda was unveiled. The Ronda was the exclusive restyling of the Ritmo carried out by SEAT as an independent brand - that is, the first SEAT of the new era.

Thus, the Ritmo was also only three years in production, but takes pride of place in the brand’s chronology as the protagonist of the transition from the rear-wheel drive saloon to the front-wheel drive hatchback in the mid-size segment.

But not only the Ritmo’s design was groundbreaking; its manufacturing process was too. It was the first SEAT in which the body’s welding and assembly was largely automated. In addition, its design was very modern and aerodynamic. The integrated bumpers made of plastic material stood out. In a way, they were reminiscent of the innovative wraparound bumpers that had earned the nickname "Bocanegra" to the 1975 SEAT 1200 Sport, the first SEAT with a totally original in-house design.

This SEAT Ritmo unit is a 75 CL, registered in Barcelona towards the end of 1979, the model’s first year of production. It is painted in light blue metallic and has been part of the SEAT HISTÓRICOS Collection since the beginning of the Collection in Nave A122.