The Fiat X1/9 was an oddball, but quite a successful one. It’s the only mid-engined car ever made by the Turin firm and its long production life (1972-90) belies its troubled birth. For our second entry in this Gandini Week, we’ll take another look at a well-known and celebrated little car, focusing particularly on the shenanigans that plagued its beginnings.
CC has featured a number of X1/9s over the years, but as far as I’m aware, the case of its odd stillborn twin has not been told here. It’s a bizarre tale of revenge, industrial espionage and straight-up coincidence involving some of Italy’s best-known automotive bigwigs. Grab some popcorn.
Having made their point with the Miura that mid-engined designs were the way of the future for supercars, Bertone wanted to prove that the same concept could be scaled down. Working with Fiat, who were thinking of a replacement for the 850 Spider, Bertone devised the Autobianchi Runabout and displayed it at the 1969 Turin Motor Show.
Marcello Gandini had gone all out on the wow (and the wedge) factor, but the end result was that the prototype just languished in a corner of Bertone’s Grugliasco factory.
Then, one fine day in early 1971, Fiat CEO Gianni Agnelli visited Bertone for an unrelated reason and happened upon the Autobianchi. He seemed to discover it for the first time and became quite taken with the whole concept, so he gave orders for Fiat to press ahead with a production version as soon as possible. Gandini revised the prototype quite extensively, and it was sent to a small subcontractor to be repainted.
Somehow, word of the Fiat sports car leaked to Alejandro de Tomaso, then in open warfare with Agnelli. One evening, he took Tom Tjaarda to the small body shop and ordered that he copy the prototype’s design. Tjaarda did so (quite reluctantly) and de Tomaso then had Ghia build the car, using a hastily-designed chassis (probably a modified Matra M530) with a Ford V4 engine in the middle.
The result, displayed on the Ghia stand at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, was dubbed “De Tomaso 1600 Spider” and painted a similar shade of yellow that the Countach prototype was sporting on the Bertone stand next door. Nuccio Bertone and Marcello Gandini were livid. Tjaarda was very uncomfortable and sought legal advice.
The De Tomaso 1600 Spider came to naught, as we all know, despite having had the jump over the Fiat X1/9 by a year. It seems Alejandro de Tomaso’s main motive for this dirty trick was to pressure Agnelli to forgive some of the debts that Vignale, which the crafty Argentinian bought in 1969, owed Fiat. It seems the ploy worked, too.
In late 1972, the Fiat X1/9 was launched and, much to the delight of both its body-maker Bertone and Fiat, became a very nice little seller, particularly across the Atlantic. The initial engine was, as seen on the Autobianchi prototype, a 1.3 litre Fiat 128 unit mated to a 4-speed manual. Our feature car is a later model with beefier bumpers and the 1.5 litre, both of which came in 1979.
Japanese-spec cars of this period are like a weird hybrid of US and Euro, sometimes with added local peculiarities. If it wasn’t for the metric dials, I would have called this a US-spec model – the “unleaded fuel only” sticker would not have been present on Euro-spec Fiats of this vintage. Guess that means this is powered by the 75hp fuel injected 1.5, as opposed to the 85hp carburated variant that still drank its dinosaur juice with a dash of heavy metal.
After MY 1982, Fiat just gave Bertone the reins of the X1/9, kind of like what they did with Pininfarina and the 124 Spider, and production continued (at a reduced pace) for another eight years. Not bad for a car whose birth was publicly upstaged by a sordid faux copycat whose sole purpose was to blackmail Fiat out of a few million (billion?) lira.
When is imitation not the sincerest form of flattery? When it’s performed by Signor De Tomaso. Marcello Gandini didn’t hold a grudge and would end up designing a number of cars for Alejandro, including the Biguá, i.e. the very last car that wore a De Tomaso badge. You might know it better as the Qvale Mangusta. What goes around…
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: Fiat X1/9 – The Mid-Engine Revolution Arrives On Main Street, by Geraldo Solis
Curbside Capsule: 1975-1978 Fiat X1/9 – Getting Closer Every Day To One Of Nine Left…, by Jim Klein
A Fiat X 1/9 Christmas Story, by Sean Cornelis
CC Outtake: Fiat X1/9 – Stripped To The Essentials, by PN
CC Outtake: X1/9 x 2, by Robert Kim
CCOTY 1974 Nomination: Fiat X1/9, by PN
Vintage R&T Review: 1974 Fiat X1/9 – “A Pleasant Surprise”, by PN
Vintage Review: Fiat X1/9 and Fiat Spider – Two Road Tests, by Yohai71
My Cousin Patty Ann, had a 1300 in the mid 70’s, England.
I was just a little kid at the time and thought it looked stunning.
A bubble of rust came through on the Drivers Door. (No doubt a legacy of the USSR paying for the Lada / Fiat 124 deal with dodgy Steel).
She parked it up, and started using a VW Golf Mk1, 5 door with a Diesel Engine.
She was notorious for picking up Car keys and seing how much fuel was in the tank.
Then taking the one with the most.
I think she would have taken my Uncle’s / her Dad’s Ergo Cabbed Skip Wagon if she could. (He had one of each A.E.C., Albion and Leyland).
One of the original Disco Dancing Queen’s.
Let’s put this Russian steel thing to bed once and for all. Paul covered it here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/cc-video-rusty-italian-cars-and-the-myth-of-russian-steel/
And while it’s very possible that steel from Russia (or India, or China, or Italy, and even from the US 😀) will rust if it’s exposed to contaminants, poorly prepped, etc before being used, that is mostly the customer’s (ie Fiat’s) responsibility. And if it showed up contaminated or corroded on the receiving dock in Italy, reject it. Quality Control 101. It’s nothing to do with the composition of the steel. Independent of the whole Fiat thing, that is pretty well documented in steel and corrosion engineering documents.
Thanks Tatra ! I was aware of the De Tomaso 1600 Spider, but not the shenanigans around its origin. Bought myself a fine example of the X1/9 last year, a 1986 Bertone, from the North American gurus Midwest Bayless (in Columbus, Ohio). The original owner customized it with a monochrome red bodywork and “bespoke” bumpers. Can’t wait to awaken it from hibernation, as it’s snowing in Calgary right now.
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Beautiful car and beautiful bumper!
Not a fan of the wheels though.
Agree about the wheels and wide tires, bit much. May change back to period correct. Will also change interior from black to something light.
Nice car, wheels are good. Bought a barely used similar set for $200 and looked great on my 280ZX I had for a few months…
Fiats were generally crappy, but my neighbor across the street still drives his XI9 in good weather. I knew spring was here when he drove it to work this morning.
My high school Freshman science teacher traded an X1/9 in for a Mustang II Ghia. I’m not sure which one was worse, LOL! I always liked these, despite all of the sacrifices you had to make to own a FIAT, including having a currently valid passport to get parts, he said only partly in jest! Most have succumbed to the dreaded tin worm and have been recycled, but a few still survive.
I seem to recall that the designers of the Pontiac P-Car, a.k.a. the Fiero, cited the X1/9 as inspiration. Perhaps that’s why they selected non-rusting plastic panels for the body in place of sheet metal, LOL!
Always liked, could be tempted by the right one…..
For style, it more than holds its own, against the newer ’84 Fiero.
Too bad about the paddle door handles, a relic of the early 1970s.
I had a 73 when I was stationed in rota Spain back in 75. Euro spec model. Great little car. I loved getting it sideways, it was like a go kart. Replaced the clutch, dyed the carpet black, had the car painted a bright blue, and had the interior reupolstered in a an ostrich colored brown, detailed the lace pattern wheels with some black. Sold it before I transferred back to the states.
I bought a ‘74 X as my first new car… put 99K miles on it and sold it in 1980. I followed the maintenance schedule and had no issues, it was a fun ride. I’ve also owned an ‘81, a ‘76 (gave to one of my sons) and an ‘86. I found if one took good care of these cars (e.g., change the timing belt as specified) they would provide a great driving experience for many years.
1980 X. Those who don’t know will never experience lateral Gs on asphalt. Almost 90 degrees at 90kph. Cornering supersedes power. When we power them up over 100hp. They really come alive. Anything over 200hp dominates if you can drive.