Fiat X1/9

Vehicle Overview

The Fiat X1/9 came about to replace the Fiat 850 Spider and become a real symbol of the Seventies. Built on the Fiat 128 base, but with an entirely innovative feature for a Fiat car: a centrally-mounted engine. Nuccio Bertone pressed Fiat management to accept this very sporty solution, and eventually managed to convince them. The Fiat X1/9 reworked the Runabout concept, an innovative Bertone design inspired by the wedge shape of racing speed boats. The Fiat X1/9 is the natural continuation of this concept, with its penetrative wedge shape. The two ridges running along the wings lighten the overall look, and the low bonnet features disappearing headlights, while the rear is cut off. But the most interesting aspect lies in the design of the cockpit, framed by the light front pillar and the rear pillar which functions as a roll-bar. With the hard-top down, the X1/9 goes from coupé to spider, and the top folds away and stows into a front compartment above the luggage. The chassis, derived from the Stratos chassis, is a supporting structure which is particularly robust and safe enough to pass the new safety tests which were about to be introduced in the States. The first version had a 74 Hp 1290 cc. engine (170 km/h), then in 1978 an 85 Hp 1498 cc. engine (176 km/h) was introduced. The Fiat X1/9 debuted at the Turin Motor Show in November 1972, immediately earning critical acclaim. Emerson Fittipaldi, who test-drove it for the magazine Quattroruote, wrote that the X1/9 drives like a Formula One car. The Fiat X1/9 was a hit, and went on to be successful on the American market too. Bertone produced the X1/9 for Fiat from 1972 to 1988, and then, from 1983 onwards, independently. A total of 160,000 units were produced.