SEAT's Nº 122 Warehouse
In a country where car museums remain scarce, rumours about the existence of a secret Seat collection created a legend among fans who dreamed that the manufacturer could be promoting a true museum on the brand. The legend continued to grow as the name of the now mythical “Nº 122 Warehouse” in the Barcelona Free Zone spread. There it was supposed that Seat was accumulating unique copies of the brand’s cars. Over time, the company itself has been spreading, in dribs and drabs, the existence of the collection that, according to Isidre López, its manager, could be the seed of a future museum.
The existence of the collection has been possible thanks to the sensitivity and vision of Elvira Beloso, management assistant at the time VW acquired Seat. With the arrival of the first German managers to the company, Elvira received instructions to delete all traces of Seat's Fiat past. With great courage and putting her job at risk, Elvira must have thought that Seat's assets transcended the company's business activity and were part of the collective memory of the country, so she decided to preserve those units that considered more representative of the company hiding them in different corners of the facilities. It was years later when a new management understood the value of these antiques and accepted that they could add some value to the image of the brand. This is how "Seat Históricos" was created, a unit in charge of keeping the history of the brand alive.
The collection currently includes about 350 cars, a good part of them are located in the famous Nave 122. It is a warehouse where the cars stand clean, well arranged and kept in perfect condition. They are not as close to each other as in some museums and there is enough room between the rows of cars, however the possibility of watching the vehicles from any angle is missing.
The cars are arranged in chronological order, in a logical sequence that the visitor appreciates. In this sense, the evolution of the Ritmo stands out, which is presented with an original copy, a clone of the first Italian version, with its “button” rims, separated from a Ronda of the same colour by the copy presented to the trial against Fiat in the Internacional Chamber of Commerce, that copy has the parts that differentiate the Ronda from the Ritmo painted in yellow. Below you can see one of the rare Ronda Crono 2.0 and, finally, the first production copy of the three-volume version of the Ritmo / Ronda, the Málaga.
The first aisle begins with the oldest models of the brand and progresses chronologically to the end of the Fiat period. At the end it connects with the second aisle that continues with the sequence, now with models from the VW era, including show cars and racing units.
As expected, the first models on display are from the 1400 and 600 ranges. I particularly liked some scale models, approximately 1:2, of old and recent models of the brand. Among the unique models, the 1400 and 600 Savio, which were used to walk visitors around the factory stood out. In the NO.DO videos of the time you can see Franco and other characters from the dictatorship visiting the facilities on board these cars.
Some models are represented by the first production unit, others by restored units that the brand has been recovering. I particularly liked the 600 Formichetta and the 1400 van which still participates as an assist in some historic rallies. On the day of the visit, copies of most of the series models of the stage were displayed, I only missed some 124 Sport and two derivatives of the Panda that I love, the Seat Trans and the Panda Terra. Isidre López confirmed that the collection includes more unique models that are not presented in the 122, such as some 1400 Serra. Rumours tell that the company already owns or is looking for hard-to-find models, such as the short version of the 850 4-door, or some units of cars of which it is not known if there are survivors, such as the Emelba 7 or the Multiple, the Seat version of the Italian Multipla.
Finally, the room hosts some show cars from the 90s to the present day and some outstanding racing cars. That day there was no replica of the 124 Gr4 with which the brand made history in the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally, but it was very gratifying to see examples such as the Ibiza Twin-engine and the Marbella Proto G40 that made the gravel rallies so attractive in the late 80s.
Having the opportunity to visit Nave 122 has meant fulfilling a great dream that I think is shared by many car enthusiasts, who hope that one day, not too far away, the brand's museum will become a reality.
