(Fri 15 May 09)

SEAT is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Ibiza, which was originally unveiled at the 1984 Paris Show.

Of course, it's the Ibiza name that has survived for a quarter of a century rather than the original car itself. That model was the first SEAT to have been developed as an independent model (as opposed to the rebadged, Spanish-built Fiats which had gone before), though it did have a lot of outside input from Italdesign, Karmann and Porsche, which provided the engines.

Since the second-generation car was introduced in 1993, Ibizas have always been re-engineered Volkswagen Polos (SEAT having become part of the VW Group in the early 90s). The third Ibiza came along in 2001 and, by now showing its age, was replaced by the much more modern current model in 2008.

The Ibiza is SEAT's most popular car, with nearly four million of the first three versions being sold. SEAT's stated aim is to double its annual sales to 800,000 units by 2018, and while this involves the introduction of several new models in sectors the Spanish company has not visited before (starting with the recently-launched Exeo) the Ibiza is intended to play an important role in achieving that target.

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