Miguel Sánchez
In the field of advertising Concerning the engine, propaganda by fact has always been a recurring method. What's more, if we look at the fifties and sixties we will see how some of those actions were truly spectacular.
In fact, in relation to two wheels, Spain stood out with rarities such as the thirty men riding the same Vespa in 1959.
Matter registered in the vicinity of Valladolid and that, surpassing a previous mark given in Burgos, put on the table the quality of the stamped sheet produced by Motorcycle Vespa SA in its Madrid factory on Juan Camarillo Street.
Likewise, following two wheels you still remember the Operation Impala endorsed by Montesa at the end of 1961.
Fully immersed in the development of its Impala model, it welcomed the idea of Oriol Regàs - a man with a romantic life as his memoirs The Divine Years attest - based on going from Cape Town to Barcelona using pre-production units of the Impala with a Land Rover as a support vehicle.
A truly striking feat that, when completed satisfactorily, gave the new Montesa model not only a powerful media echo but - and this is the most important thing - clear proof in favor of its reliability.
In fact, following the thread of this type of resistance tests, SEAT itself supported Carlos del Val and Virgilio Rivadulla in their idea of go around Spain in just 124 hours carrying, of course, one of the first 124.
THE PRESENTATION OF A NEW MODEL
Scoring for the European Rally Championship, the 39th edition of Monte Carlo arrived in January 1969 with the heyday of the Porsche 911. In fact, the winner was precisely the unit driven by Björn Waldergard while, in the following positions, the Alpine A110 and Lancia Fulvia stood out, de rigueur in every European rally of the time.
So far everything is normal. However, SEAT had just presented its 124 last year. Based on the corresponding Fiat, it provided a giant leap in performance, comfort and safety to the automotive offer produced in Spain.
What's more, thanks to its position between the 850 and the already leading 1500, it was, if you allow us the somersault, the prologue to the future C segment, even sporting a body with three volumes well marked.
Likewise, the 60 HP - five more in the LS version - delivered by the 1.197 cc engine and double-body carburetor gave a certain verve to this model that, with rear propulsion, allowed the most intrepid drivers some sports games without losing sight of the limitations of the rigid axle.
All this with a weight of only 855 kilos; In short, it is not surprising how the 124 was the foundation of the future Special 1600/1800.
SEAT 124 IN THE MONTECARLO, THE PRESS CAR
However, the truth is that SEAT had it relatively easy in the local market at that time. In fact, in 1969 it reached its unit 1 million -just with a 124- and, in comparative terms, it left FASA far behind by taking over half of the passenger cars sold in Spain.
In any case, that was not an obstacle to continuing with the advertising campaigns, even more so when a more modern and casual corporate image was being delved into, crowned with the launch of the 850 Sport in Spider version.
Thus, SEAT gave several units of the 124 to the press Spanish displaced to follow Monte Carlo 1969.
That said, reviewing images from the time we can identify media such as TVE, La Vanguardia or Autopista proving the excellence of the 124 in a challenge that, clearly, had to talk about the reliability of the model.
And, at the end of the day, the press cars had to keep up with the pace of the race while covering all mileage to the south of France.
That is to say, a mixture of speed and mechanical strength was needed, which was not easy to achieve. Even more so if we take into account how to cover the stretch of Type -at night- it could lower the mercury to -16º.
In short, a really ingenious advertising operation that, furthermore, seems to be a kind of advance to which, at another level of course, SEAT Sport would do just a few years later in the same rally.
Images from SEAT and Historical Digital Newspaper Library (Ministry of Culture)
