The SEAT Marbella was the fourth model of the new SEAT named after a Spanish town, following the Ronda (1982), Ibiza (1984) and Malaga (1985). It was launched in late 1986 and went on sale from January 1987. It was the result of the Panda's styling adaptation to the renewed image of the SEAT line-up, retaining a strong youthful focus.

Actually, early in 1982 the place-name Marbella had been the first one used by SEAT in one of its cars. Specifically, the Andalusian town gave its name to the Panda's luxury variant, the Panda Marbella, which beat the SEAT Ronda by a few months.

The Marbella was a simple and functional vehicle, at home in both the city and on the road - and even on rough surfaces, largely thanks to its strong leaf spring rear suspension. Its engine was the well-known 903cc block premiered in the 1969 SEAT 850 Sport Spider, but thoroughly updated. Its simplicity and reliability were ideal for the Marbella.

Conveniently developed and updated, thanks to the Marbella this engine would be built in Barcelona for almost 30 years, fitted with a new electronically-controlled carburettor system from 1992. This device, called EAi (Electronic Air injection), was developed especially by SEAT technicians and premiered in the 1991 Marbella Playa concept-car, and allowed the use of a catalytic converter to reduce emissions.

Aesthetically, the Marbella's styling was the work of José María Martínez Serra, head of design at Martorell's Technical Center. The main feature was a totally new front, with a more graceful bonnet, and a new grille and bumpers. Also new were the side mouldings and tailgate, with a larger rear window and new lights. Inside, the seats and steering wheel were also more modern.

The Marbella enjoyed a myriad of limited series to attract younger people. The first one was the Playa ("beach") in 1987, followed by others such as the Junior (with the 843cc engine), the Nieve ("snow", 1988), the Red, Black and Yellow (1989), the Jeans (1990), the Fun (1991) or the Kiss and Maximoto (1992).

Likewise, and like the Panda, the Marbella also had a commercial derivative, in addition to a van called Terra (from 1987 to 1994, which would be replaced in 1995 by the Ibiza II-derived SEAT Inca). The standard versions were the L (4-speed), GL and GLX (both 5-speed), renamed Special, XL and GLX from 1989.

Besides, although motorsport was not the Marbella's vocation, SEAT Sport made the most of its low price and the power train's proven reliability to offer amateur drivers the ideal vehicle to enter rallying. The Marbella was thus the successor of the successful Panda Cup, whose first edition in 1981 had been won by future world rally champion Carlos Sainz. The Gravel Marbella Cup was run for seven seasons, from 1987 to 1993, and in 1989 it doubled into tarmac rallies, taking over from the Ibiza Cup.

However, in terms of racing Marbellas the most sensational was the Marbella Proto, built by SEAT Sport in 1988 to compete in the Spanish Gravel Rally Championship's 2-wheel drive category, which it won in 1989.

The Marbella's success caused SEAT to keep building the car until 1998, with almost 600,000 units manufactured and when its successor, the Arosa, had already been on sale for a year. Together, Panda and Marbella totalled more than a million units and were in production for almost 18 years, breaking the 16-year record of the SEAT 600.

The Marbella's end of production on April 7, 1998 was a historic date for SEAT, as it also meant the end of car manufacturing at Barcelona's Zona Franca factory, today dedicated to body parts stamping.

SEAT HISTÓRICOS keeps the first chassis of the Marbella MY97 (model year 1997), the most modern standard version, an eye-catching orange colour unit manufactured in late 1996. The brand's Collection also includes the Marbella Proto rally car, a 1990 Terra Diesel van (the first mass-produced SEAT powered by a VW engine), the 1991 Marbella Playa concept-car (which used the same name as the 1987 limited edition series) and the Marbella pick-up prototype.