The Engine
Engine options were initially restricted to a 1481 cc petrol fuelled water cooled unit, driving the rear wheels via a four speed all syncromesh gearbox. With this engine a top speed of 145 km/h (90 mph) was claimed. After 1968, demand for petrol engined versions of the SEAT 1500 fell away with the introduction of the SEAT 124, a much more modern design based on the Fiat 124, and a car with a much better power-to-weight ratio.
From 1969, both 1.8 and 2-litre diesel versions of the SEAT 1500 were offered, and most would be used as taxis. Initially only cars with the smaller diesel engines were delivered, using an engine last seen in the Mercedes Benz 180D with a claimed output in this application of 46 bhp (34 kW; 47 PS). According to one report this version took nearly 50 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph), but fuel cost savings were impressive, helped by the lower level of sales tax on diesel fuel. These were the first diesel powered saloons manufactured in Spain. Fiat were not producing diesel engines at this stage. Engines were supplied by Mercedes Benz and Perkins Engines Company Limited. The diesel engines supplied to SEAT by Mercedes Benz were versions of the four cylinder diesel engines that powered Mercedes diesel engined cars in many corners of Europe in the 1960s.
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Famous quotes containing the word engine:
“Industrial man—a sentient reciprocating engine having a fluctuating output, coupled to an iron wheel revolving with uniform velocity. And then we wonder why this should be the golden age of revolution and mental derangement.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“The will is never free—it is always attached to an object, a purpose. It is simply the engine in the car—it can’t steer.”
—Joyce Cary (1888–1957)