In the quests that Sander and Femme undertake on their travels at home and abroad for classic Volkswagens, special cars like this Seat Ronda 1.2 GL pop up. When was the last time you saw one?
By: Dirk de Jong
It turns out that only a few have a Dutch registration and this LX-99-JH is one of them. For these young boys (twenties) cherishing youngtimers or classics is more than a fun hobby, they are working professionally to keep the automotive past tangible on the road.
Seat Ronda 1.2 GL
This 35-year-old animal needs no attention. It is technically perfect and also in beautiful condition in terms of appearance.
Fiat Ritmo
The real connoisseur sees that the car is derived from Fiat Ritmo. To make it clear that this is a real piece of Spain, there are external differences such as the square headlights, the modified grill and also minor adjustments such as door handles, rims, and taillights. With this Ronda, the Fiat collaboration was also discontinued and the baton was taken over by Volkswagen.
History
Sander: “It is known that he drove for a long time with the first owner in Groningen, after which he also had a very long standstill. We found this car during our searches and decided to buy it, so that the car could serve as a service car / loan car for our 'Funky' VW company. Unique opportunities come unexpectedly and are not announced, so it is important to react quickly.”
Changed plans
A person makes a lot of plans that then by chance or circumstances take a completely different turn. A visitor to the garage showed an interest in the now rare Seat Ronda and the car was subsequently sold. Sander soon regretted it, but he couldn't change the circumstances. So he started a search for the same type. After a few years he was successful. A Seat Ronda was offered on the internet with the registration number LX-99-JH. And that turned out to be the previously sold Spaniard. You certainly understand why the Seat Ronda 1.2 GL is back in the Westereen?
Also read:
- The Seat 1400. The first car from Zona Franca
- A household name for twenty years. The CUPRA label from SEAT.
- Fiat Panda. The last of the Mohicans
- Fiat Tipo. Again classic. (but not yet discovered)
- Fiat Ritmo 130 TC Abarth (1984): Approving glances for Bouke
My uncle once had one in jet light blue years ago.
I thought it was quite a nice car.
My other uncle had a 'real' Ritmo (that uncle, like my father, was also Italian, the uncle of the Ronda was Dutch)
And my father drove a Seat Malaga for a while, but then quickly switched to an Italian brand... And that became a Lancia Prisma 2 twice! That was nice stuff!👌🏽😍 Especially compared to the Seat's of course!
(Attached is a photo of me tinkering with a Vespa Avanti (with Kickstart and variomatic!👌🏽🤘🏽) and my father's 2nd Prisma, a 1.6 Symbol with a lot of luxury on board!)
I had one in the same color, bought in Dezember 1983 in Austria. 1,2 GLX, 64 HP. Good memories!
I have been a Seat dealer for 25 years. The first Ronda's came in 1983 and were still equipped with the 1200 cc Fiat pushrod engine and many other things from the Fiat warehouses, making them less reliable. but over time we solved that ourselves and most customers were happy. A nice story about the headlights of these first Ronda's. Apparently Italian glue was used to glue the glasses to the plastic housing, which lost its adhesive power over time. If you then had to brake strongly before the traffic light, the glasses would fall on the street and if they were not broken, they would break if you drove over them when the green light was on. Great time.
Everything turned out fine after that.
I also owned a red Seat Ronda. Bought in the 80s-90s, with barely 10000 km on the clock, as a damaged car. Cheap investment, nice robust P-motor. Enjoyed for years. There was also a diesel version 1500, I think anyway.
It's clear who the sucker is here, Jeroen.
Are you sure, Kees?
Volkswagen? It is a Spanish FIAT with a Volkswagen sjoemeltje in the front: motor system Porsche. At the time I managed to sell a Malaga to a gullible moron because it “was actually a Porsche”. (We've been sore for days from laughing and I still feel uncomfortable with my action after all these years).
I've had it myself. Great car. Had a lot of fun. And at the time it wasn't for sale.....