Model Collector – August 2019

| Seat Ritmo models

62 http://www.modelcollector.com | august 2019

Stradavarious

PART 2

A

lthough now part of the

Volkswagen Group, the

SEAT Company was

formed in 1948 to manufacture

Fiat cars under licence, and

the SEAT Strada was produced

from 1979 to 1982 (although

production of the Fiat Strada

actually started in 1978).

In 1982 SEAT replaced the

Ritmo with the SEAT Ronda

(‘Ronda’ being Spanish for

‘round’). The Fiat engine

inherited from the Fiat 124

was swapped for a power plant

newly developed by SEAT and

Porsche, and was so referred

to as the ‘System Porsche’

engine. A dispute occurred

between Fiat and SEAT as to

whether the Ronda breached

the licensing agreement and

SEAT had to change a number

of components on the Ronda

in order to resolve this. So,

although this article primarily

deals with contemporary

SEAT Ritmo toys, for the sake

of completeness I have also

included the one SEAT Ronda

toy I have.

All the models that fol-

low were manufactured in

Spain – perhaps not surprising

because, as far as I am aware,

the cars themselves were only

marketed there. I shall begin

with the smallest SEAT Ritmo

toy and work upwards in scale.

Unless otherwise stated,

all are diecast and all feature

‘glazing’ and interiors.

IBERTREN – SEAT Ritmo

This is a plastic HO scale

model of the four-door saloon

and, while not to quite the

same standards of quality we

see in offering from the likes of

Herpa and Wiking, it’s a pretty

decent replica. One version

features ‘BOMBEROS’

(fire brigade) on its side

and is finished in

red. It also features an orange

rooflight; although I am not

sure if this is prototypical as

it’s significantly larger than

a British revolving rooflight

of this era would have been.

There’s a 'POLICIA' (police)

version, too, in metallic gold

with rooflight – in this

instance a blue one. There’s

also a plain orange version.

All are fitted with black

plastic wheels.

This is one of just two models

that Ibertren, a Spanish model

railway company based in

Barcelona, has produced – the

other being a Mercedes-Benz

L406 minibus. These models

are sold in polythene packs,

each containing two vehicles,

so you cannot buy mint and

boxed, only mint and packeted!

The Ibertren SEAT Ritmo

was clearly intended to be an

Having looked at Fiat Ritmo/Strada toys in

the June 2019 issue of MC, John Harrison

now reviews contemporary toys of its

Spanish cousin, the SEAT Ritmo...

The Policia version of the

Ibertren SEAT Ritmo.