The Fiat X1/9 is pure Italian mid-engine passion

There are cars that made history and were unfairly forgotten. The Fiat X1/9 stood for a whole generation of affordable, small sports cars, all of which have now disappeared from the market. An entire segment is lying fallow, but these cars were affordable dream cars for everyone.

The X1/9 was never one of the fastest vehicles in the country. Over the course of his successful career, power output ranged between 73 and 86 hp, depending on the market. But what seems like a little to us today was enough for a big portion of driving fun. The magic words of those years were – low weight and mid-engine. This recipe, attractively prepared by Bertone, worked excellently.

Italian mid-engine passion from Bertone

In words, the Fiat X1/9 weighed between 880 and 980 kilograms empty. It will probably have to be explained to future generations that such a low weight was sufficient for a complete car, and not just a battery pack. However, the topic of lightweight construction should not be associated with low safety. The Fiat was as Safety convertible designed, a Targa with a fixed roll bar and removable roof. But the Targa word had already been secured for use by Porsche at that time.

As a mid-engine sports car, the The Italo sports car was designed and built by Bertone. It was not without reason that the wedge shape was reminiscent of other Italian brands that were much more expensive, more prominent and also more powerful.

The Fiat X1/9 is visually a small Ferrari

Visually, the Fiat X1/9, which is based on the extensive 128 family (Link) based, a lot ago. He was the star at the traffic lights. Maybe not when it jumped to green, but definitely when stationary. Longing looks accompanied the Targa, for Bertone (Link), it was a commercial success with around 165.000 copies. He originally presented the study for the X1/9 at the Turin Motor Show in 1969 Autobianchi Bertone Runabout (Link) presented and later received the green light for the X1/9 from Fiat patron Gianni Agnelli.

The Fiat X1972/1 came onto the market in 9 and four years later the time was ripe for the first special model. The exclusive series rolled out to authorized dealers with metallic paint and sports stripes, an essential accessory for sporty vehicles at the time. Of course, light alloy rims and fog lights were included in the scope of delivery and the upgraded, limited X1/9 already had a bit of the visual exclusivity of a Ferrari.

The master signs the special series

From today's perspective, the signature applied by Nuccio Bertone would be more significant. The signature of the grand master of Italian design would, 47 years later, make every surviving example a collector's item.

But it is probably the case that not too many X1/9s will have survived. Production ended in 1988, and in the meantime the Fiat X1/9 had become the Bertone X1/9. Sales, which had recently been sluggish, only ended a year later, when the last new cars had disappeared from the showrooms.

In the years that followed, mid-engine sports cars were still seen on the road; they were available cheaply and often fell into the wrong hands. Wide tires, body modifications and wild exhaust systems, the little Bertone Fiat had to endure a lot. What made matters worse was that the rust prevention was as negligent as the workmanship was at times, not good prerequisites for a long car life.

If you meet one in the wild in the present, perhaps on small, winding third-order roads, your eyes will widen. It really is a pocket-sized Ferrari, and not just in terms of design. Mid-engine, perfect weight distribution and road holding are still able to show the taillights of some battery packs with integrated cars.