The SEAT Marbella is a compact city car in a 3-door hatchback, which was introduced by the Spanish car company SEAT (a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group) in 1986. In essence, this is the same model as the Fiat Panda of the first series, which was produced in the period from 1983 to 1986. Initially, the car was called SETA Panda, being a clone of a Fiat car. However, the name and some elements of the design had to be changed, as relations between the companies were lost. Note that the design of the Fiat Panda subcompact was carried out by Italdesign under the guidance of Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Unlike the Fiat model, since 1986 the “Marbella” compact from SEAT has not received any changes in appearance or in technical equipment. Obvious differences between the “Panda” and the “Marbella” were the front and rear lights, as well as the aprons. The wheelbase of the car was 2,160 mm, length - 3,475 mm, width - 1,500 mm, and height - 1,445 mm.
As for the technical equipment, in the car SEAT Marbella used borrowed from the model Fiat Panda. The power unit was a straight four-cylinder volume of 0.9 liters and a power equal to 40 hp at 5,400 rpm, and the maximum torque was 60 Nm at 2,800 rpm. This engine was quite enough for a car weighing about 700 kg. Based on the history of the development of this engine, it was recognized as very durable under normal conditions of use. The gearbox here was a 4-speed manual. Later, a 5-speed manual transmission became available. The maximum speed of the compact was 131 km / h, and it took him about 20 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km / h.
The front suspension of the car was independent on the coil springs, and the rear dependent spring. As for the cabin, it was a five-seater, but only the front passengers could comfortably accommodate here, behind the space was not enough. It should be noted that on the basis of the model SEAT Marbella was built a commercial version of the car with a high rear end, such as the so-called "heel". It was introduced in the late 90s and was called SEAT Terra.
