The Fiat X 1/9 on the cover 40 years ago
05/12/2013
A yellow Fiat X 1/9 posed proudly on the cover of the February 1973 issue of Road & Track. Although it was wet in the photo, this did nothing to dampen the Americans' joy at the new arrival, which was billed as a mid-engined sports car for the masses.
New arrival? In Europe, the little speedster had been around since 1972 and production had been going on for a long time. However, fans on the other side of the Atlantic received the car much later, in fact only in 1974, and for just one year it was possible to buy the X 1/9 in the USA as it was known in Europe, with delicate bumpers and the airy and open-sounding 1.3-liter engine.
From the 1975 model year onwards, this was a thing of the past; larger bumpers and a detoxified engine were necessary in order to meet the new environmental and safety standards. Later, fuel injection and a catalytic converter were added.
The Americans still loved it and bought it until 1987, most recently under the Bertone brand.
We have philosophized about the similarities in the design of the X 1/9 before and a photo showing both the X 1/9 and its spiritual predecessor, the Autobianchi Runabout, can be found in the Zwischengas archive.
