There’s few things I like more than filling in the blank holes in my automotive knowledge. When I saw this posted at the CC Cohort by coopey, I drew a total and utter blank. WTF? How did I not know about this cute little sporty coupe’s existence? A cross between a Sirocco and a Fiat 127? Well, I wasn’t all too far off the mark, as this little SEAT 1200 Sport ‘Bocanegra’ has a very unusual provenance. And this is just the opening salvo; coopey has hundreds of fantastic finds from Madrid posted.
The slightly translation-garbled story of the 1200 Sport is here, so I’ll offer a condensed and less garbled one: In 1970, NSU hired Aldo Sessano to design a stylish prototype coupe to drape over its Corvair-like 1200TT sedan. The result was called the Nergal, but the project was still-born. SEAT was hankering to do its first-ever home-grown car, having only ever built Fiats until then. SEAT bought the right to the Nergal design, and modified it to fit on a fwd Fiat 127 platform, but using the larger 1200 and 1400 cc engines out of the 124. Supposedly, there was some thought given to making it rear engine too, but those were probably wisely abandoned.
Obviously, the shape had to be adjusted a fair amount, but oddly enough, a vestige of the rear-engine cooling intake still found its way into the 1200 Sport. The ‘Bocanegra’ (Update: “Blackmouth”, in reference to its black rubber front end/bumper) was built from 1975 to 1981. Never knew about the Negral either. I feel so much smarter already!
I know what this is; a Chrysler 150 GT, otherwise known as the Simca 1307 and later as the Talbot 150. For some reason, the Simca was badged as a Chrysler just for the Spanish market. The Simca 1307 arrived in 1975, a year or two after the VW Passat, which it rather resembles. Both were inspired by that pioneering family-sized hatchback, the Renault R16.
Here’s a veteran Renault R12 curbside. These were sold in the US, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen one.
And Citroen Dyane “van”, a slightly modernized version of the classic Citroen 2CV Fourgonnette that was the vehicle of choice for European hippies to take to Morocco and such.
And of course, a SEAT 600, the car that put Spain on wheels in the fifties, the Italo-Iberian VW. This one is identified as a 1972, which is pretty late in that car’s life. Stephanie has less-than fond memories of being squeezed into one of these when her family spent a year in Spain. It was just about the default rental car at the time, unless one paid big bucks.
Thanks cooley; and you have a fab collection of cars shot. Check them all out here.
“Bocanegra” = black mouth, literally translated. Must be some hip lingo in the local dialect of the time.
Called a “Blackmouth” due to its black front end,see picture. Currently rejuvinated on a special edition Ibiza Cupra Sport. Me thinks Seats would do better than Fiats Stateside s they are part of the Wolkswagen-audi group.
That Seat looks an awful lot like Renault 15/17. I used to love those as a boy and they were rare even when still in production.
The photo of the Renault R12 is great, it almost looks like a brochure cover!
That Chrysler 150 looks a lot like a VW Dasher.
As usual in Aotearoas crowded car market Seat is here but mostly the later editions Talbots are here in very small survivor numbers Larger Simcas didnt sell well though I see the odd one about lately. Nice to see nearly unknown cars from far away places.
Citroen Fourgonnettee: vehicle of choice for European hippies (and Parissienne detectives) to take to Morocco or drive into pools.
I wish my own NSU TT had had lines like that. It would have gotten a lot more respect. But I loved it just the way it was, a true sleeper…
To me, the car in the first photo (without being able to see the front end) has a bit of an AMC Hornet/Gremlin vibe….
Bocanegra Spanish: nickname from boca ‘mouth’ + negra ‘black’, denoting a foul-mouthed or abusive person.
There is a Verdi opera “Simon Bocanegra”
Hi CC readers, “bocanegra” nickname comes from the front integral plastic bumper…no other implication
greetings from MAdrid
The “Chrysler150/Simca 1307/1308 was built in the UK as the Chrysler Alpine. Chysler owned the Alpine name as it owned Sunbeam, which had produced the Sunbeam Alpine sportscar in the 50s.
The Alpine was essentially a rebodied, stretched Simca 100, with a stretched version of that cars’ engine. The 1307 was 1300cc and the 1308 (Alpine S ) was 1442cc. The engines were powerful but thrashy pushrod units. It was a much better looking car than any VW though.
I’m in love with the Bocanegra… It looks like what the AMC AMX’s little brother should have looked like…
That white one has Campagnolo alloy wheels. They’re considered the best wheels made in the ’60’s. Many Ferraris and Lamborghinis used them. The company seemed to stop making them in the ’70’s, they didn’t survive the to the +1 & +2 era. They company still exists making alloy and carbon fiber bicycle parts, for which they are also considered one of the best.
Hi there!
I’m coopey, the author of these pics. I’ve found this post a “little bit” too late but I’m very glad you liked those cars. If you want their original non-edited photographs I’d have no problem in providing them. Thank you for your interest!
This Dyane 400 belongs to my brother. The picture looks like a bit old but we know it is quite recent. Nice work.