The SEAT Marbella Playa was a style exercise unveiled at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was a concept-car in the form of a mini soft-roader pick-up, whose design premises were to combine a cheerful style with great functionality.

The design of the Marbella Playa concept-car was the work of the SEAT Design specialists, the 33-strong design department of the SEAT Technical Center in Martorell, led by José María Martínez Serra. The Marbella Playa was their first complete car project, from the initial sketches to the rolling prototype.

The result was SEAT's great surprise at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show, held in September, where the Marbella Playa concept-car shared prominence with SEAT’s latest models, Toledo and Ibiza New Style. SEAT Design specialists had finished off Giugiaro's projects for the Toledo and Ibiza New Style at the Technical Center, and were able to breathe an unmistakable family air to the Marbella Playa, with a front end similar to that of the newest SEAT cars.

But the highlight of this style exercise was the originality of its solutions, which made it ideal for leisure, sport and holidays. At the rear two folding seats were transversely-mounted, and inside the back door there was a practical multipurpose suitcase. Hidden in the two central pillars there were a beverage tray (on the left) and a storage cubby that could double up as a cooler (on the right). The front anatomical seats and steering wheel were uniquely designed.

The soft top was also very original. Its side supports could be articulated upwards, so that, with the hood on, the Marbella Playa had a higher roof and therefore greater interior space. A drawer inside the rear door kept the tubular structure that served to hold the hood in place. All this was combined with a fresh design and fun colours, with an attractive colour scheme between the plastic elements and the upholstered parts of fabric.

On the outside, the gorgeous yellow colour used for the body and rims was the origin of the famous kiwi of the SEAT Ibiza Kit Car and the first Ibiza CUPRA. In addition to the new grille, the newly designed wraparound bumpers (with fog headlights integrated into the front one), the new rear lights, the alloy wheels and the spare wheel on the rear door stood out – the latter being a detail that reinforced the off-road look.

However, Marbella Playa was much more than a style exercise, as the Martorell Technical Center used it as a test bench for a technological innovation developed by SEAT’s engineers. It was a new electronically-controlled carburettor system, called EAi (Electronic Air injection). This device allowed the use of a catalytic converter in Marbella's reliable 903cc engine, and after being premiered in the concept-car it went on to be fitted on the mass-produced Marbellas from 1992.

Initially, this Marbella-based concept-car was to be called Petit, but finally it got the name Playa (beach) that SEAT had already used in 1987 on the first Marbella limited series.

The Marbella Playa concept-car was so warmly welcomed in the Frankfurt Motor Show that SEAT decided to produce a limited series of a Marbella Special pick-up for the German market, also called Playa, but very different from the motor show’s prototype and closer to the much-missed 1983 SEAT Panda Terra.

SEAT HISTÓRICOS keeps the Marbella Playa concept-car and also an example of the limited series Marbella Special Playa. Also part of the Collection is a later Marbella pick-up prototype, with a more austere and utility vehicle trim, which remained a one-off.