At the 1984 Geneva Motor Show, SEAT unveiled its new range of SEAT System Porsche engines. A few months before the brand-new SEAT Ibiza went on sale, these modern engines went on to power the Ronda line-up.

The launch of the SEAT Ronda in June 1982 marked a turning point in the company's history. It was SEAT's first new model as an independent brand and therefore sported the new "S" logo from day one. And it was also the first one named after a Spanish city (together with SEAT’s Panda Marbella version, launched a few months earlier).

The Ronda was part of a new trio of SEAT models designed at the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell, and was a complete restyling of the Ritmo. It had the internal code S-2 (the S-1 would be the forthcoming, all-new SEAT Ibiza and the S-3, the Malaga), and SEAT had the collaboration of Italian designer Rayton Fissore for the design of the body and interior.

In addition, the Ronda was the first SEAT exported to Europe through its own dealer network. Exports started in April 1983, and that first year the brand exported a total of 25,726 Rondas to European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands (the first "European" Ronda was sold in Amsterdam) and, also, Israel. In 1984, exports from the SEAT network soared to 81,320 units.

The symbol of SEAT's large-scale international launch was the Ronda. It was a car capable of competing at the highest European level, even more so since the SEAT System Porsche powertrains were available in mid-1984. The Ronda was the first SEAT on sale powered by these engines, a few months before the arrival of the SEAT Ibiza. The third SEAT powered by SEAT’s System Porsche engines was the Malaga, a replacement for the 131 and unveiled in 1985.

SEAT’s System Porsche engines were the result of joint research by the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell and the prestigious German firm Porsche. It was the most modern mass-produced engine that existed then in Europe, an OHC available in two petrol versions, 1.2, 63 HP and 1.5, 85 HP. The new Ronda with these engines was recognizable from the previous, push-rod units by the addition of a striking letter "P" (Porsche’s initial) on the rear sides, over a discreet red stripe that run throughout the body.

The available trims were GL and GLX, so the higher-end was the Ronda 1.5 GLX. This is the version that is part of the SEAT HISTÓRICOS Collection. It is a Ronda 1.5 GLX registered in Barcelona in 1985, painted in metallic double layer blue colour. It belonged to an employee of SEAT's communication department - she gave it to the company's museum in 2006, at the origins of the Collection in Nave A122.

The Ronda was in production until 1986 and did not have a direct replacement. In fact, SEAT did not have a car in the C segment of the market again until the launch of the first SEAT Leon in 1999.