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SEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First Car

King Felipe VI of Spain was visiting SEAT’s main headquarters in Martorell recently when the automaker surprised his majesty with a gift that seemed to bring back memories. The company found the King’s first car, a SEAT Ibiza, Felipe VI got as a present from his father in 1986 when he turned 18. With a 152,000 kilometers mileage and not having been started up for more than 16 years, the vehicle was fully restored.
King Felipe VI Drove a Seat Ibiza 8 photos
Photo: SEAT
SEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First CarSEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First CarSEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First CarSEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First CarSEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First CarSEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First CarSEAT Restored King Felipe VI of Spain’ First Car
The King drove the 1.5-liter metallic gold Ibiza as his first car, back in the days he was going through his student years, so the surprise was quite big. The car was given to him by his father, then King Juan Carlos, in 1986. “I imagine he recalled his first car, his student days, his 18 years...” said Isidre Lopez, head of Classic Cars at Seat, whose team have carried out the work of restoring it.

Now, the car itself might look as a simple small city car, but it turns out it’s a lot more than that. According to SEAT, when it was built, the car was very much ahead of its time, being equipped with an injection engine and air conditioning, two years before these items were introduced on other series production cars.

One of the biggest problem in restoring the vehicle was getting the fuel feed and injection system up and running, since the car had not been on the road for many years. Integrated paintwork, upholstery, tires, wheels and special tailored to the height of Felipe VI seats make the car rather a custom-built Ibiza than a serial one.

Even though it once belonged to the King, the unique Ibiza will be put next to the company’s classic automobile collection that is currently counting 250 cars.
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