The launch of the SEAT 1200 Sport at the end of 1975 marks a true milestone in the make's history. It is SEAT's first in-house design, the first one developed with SEAT's Martorell Technical Centre already in operation.

The car captured the market's imagination with its modern, aggressive and appealing coupé design, complete with sensational black polyurethane foam bumpers. The front of the car was covered by a kind of wraparound mask, a bold and unusual design that provided SEAT's 1200 Sport with one of its most striking and distinctive features - and gave it the famous "Bocanegra" ("black mouth") nickname.

The beautiful body and futuristic interior, with a nice one-piece dashboard, are the work of Italian designer Aldo Sessano. For the powertrain, SEAT fitted in the 1200 Sport the 124's 1.197 cc engine (the Bocanegra was the last SEAT whose name denoted the engine's capacity), but transversally-mounted instead of longitudinally - a real technological challenge for the Technical Centre at Martorell.

For the production of the body, SEAT turned to the Inducar coachbuilder, as had previously done with the 4-door, long-wheelbase 850 model, another exclusive car made by SEAT.

After the press unveiling at Sierra Nevada, near Granada, in December 1975, the Bocanegra went on sale at the beginning of 1976 and took part in the elegance show in that year's Barcelona Motorshow, with four cars fitted with custom upholstery by renowned dressmakers.

One year later, in September 1977, the new version Sport 1430 joined the range. It developed 77 HP, ten more than the 1200. At the same time, a 2nd series of the latter was launched (fitted with a more refined Weber carburettor instead of the previous Bressel), now called Sport 1200 instead of 1200 Sport.

In total, 19.322 examples were built (11.619 of the 1200 and 7.713 of the 1430), of which 4.122 examples were exported to selected European countries during the last two years of its commercial life, in 1978 and 1979.

The impact of the Sport in SEAT's history has been so deep than in the 2008 Geneva Motorshow SEAT launched a prototype called SEAT Sport Coupé Bocanegra, complete with a spectacular black front, that gave a preview of the fourth generation Ibiza. The prototype was so warmly welcomed that a year later SEAT marketed a limited edition called Ibiza Bocanegra, of which 4.706 examples were built until 2012, in FR and CUPRA versions and engines.

The Kent Green unit preserved by SEAT HISTÓRICOS is a 1st series 1200 Sport, built in 1976. It's been fully restored and frequently used in regularity rallies for historic cars. In addition, it has taken part in various events and rallies in other European countries, such as Germany and the UK. The Sport's totally original line is a hit wherever it goes, being an exclusive SEAT model little known outside Spain.