Wedges were big in the 1970s, and there are few wedgy-shaped cars that have proved as popular over the years as Fiat’s quirky little X1/9. The pint-sized, mid-engined two-seater was built by Fiat from 1972-82, with its designer – Bertone – then taking over production and continuing to build them until 1989. Around 140,500 Fiat-built cars were sold, followed by somewhere in the region of 19,500 Bertone-built models, and the allure of the formula was undeniable: the compact and lightweight form, with its transversely-mounted four-pot directly behind the seats, was lauded for its supremely balanced handling. The pop-up headlights and removable hard-top panel offered a frisson of concept-car chic, and the styling called to mind a cross between a baby Ferrari and a Lancia Stratos. With fully independent suspension, disc brakes all round on a split-circuit system, and rack-and-pinion steering, the chassis was well equipped to exploit the fizzy power from the rev-happy little motor, and with nifty slimline seats inside it felt just as eager and perky as, indeed, it was.
When the big bosses finally called time on the X1/9 in 1989, the final cars were sent off with a flourish in the form of the Gran Finale. These were essentially dealer-modified cars, based on the Special Edition model, available in a couple of unique paint shades and treated to assorted upgrades including a tasty rear spoiler. These small-volume specials are now particularly sought after as the very last of a long, long line.dsc_1997_51006533568_o.jpg4.19 MB
The History
Alright, let’s not beat about the bush: this isn’t an X1/9 that you’re going to jump right into and drive off into the sunset. There’ll be a little work involved between this point and that one.
The current owner bought it as a sort of rekindling of youth; years ago his first car had been an X1/9, and when he saw this project come up for sale he snagged it with a vague hope of fixing it up and getting it back on the road. However, with a number of other cars in the collection and only so much free time to play with them, he’s reluctantly having to admit to himself that he’s not going to complete this Gran Finale, and it’s time for someone else to have a go.
The owner has the V5, and there are also original copies of the warranty and service books, which have suffered with the damp a little and we’d advise a delicate touch to leaf through them. Beyond that, the back-story is all down to your imagination.
The seats are pretty splendid, aren’t they? Squishy and comfy and tastefully trimmed, they’re showing minimal wear thanks to the car having only covered a modest mileage of 62k. The Fiat has a lovely three-spoke steering wheel which should clean up nicely, and peering past that you’ll spot one of the coolest elements of the X1/9’s dash – that the rev counter needle rotates counterclockwise. No real reason for that, beyond being quirky and interesting! The steering column is detached from the car and hangs loose, so that’s one of the jobs to add to the list. The correct Gran Finale dash badge is in place, and an aftermarket Kenwood CD/radio head unit has been fitted. The driver’s seat flips forward correctly to reveal the hidden spare wheel well; there’s no wheel in there, but there’s also minimal rot which is a plus.
The correct door cards are fitted and in reasonably good nick, and the carpets appear to be decent. In the front boot, we can see that it’s impressively tidy underneath the carpet/liner, and the bulkhead looks OK. The pop-up light units do appear rather corroded. There’s some surface corrosion in the rear boot, but there don’t appear to be holes and it doesn’t seem to be actively wet in there; the boot lid itself is great and the rubber seal looks fine.dsc_2000_51007240136_o.jpg2.28 MB
The Exterior
There’s some work to do here, for sure, but it’s not as bad as it could be. Once the rust has been attended to then it’ll be wanting a full repaint, but the original Mica Red paint here can act as inspiration to spur you on. You can see from the photos that a former owner has made a few inroads into addressing the corrosion, mainly on the bonnet, wheel arches and lower body sides as well as the rollover bar directly beneath the lift-out roof panel. There are rotten areas and holes, but on the whole it doesn’t appear too horrendous – although we don’t want to make any promises about its solidity; this goes for the underside too, as these cars are notorious for crumbling from the bottom up, although the owner assures us that he’s had it up on a ramp and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t as bad as expected.
The massive plus here is that all the right bits appear to be in place – the car has its original alloy wheels in decent condition, along with all the light lenses, window glass, model-specific badges, and bumpers – and there’s a sizable pile of spares that comes with it too. The roof panel secures properly and pops out easily. This shouldn’t be a project that snowballs into a worldwide quest for obscure parts; treat it as more akin to a huge Airfix kit. A huge Airfix kit that needs a welder and a spray gun.dsc_2085_51007235056_o.jpg2.77 MB
The Mechanicals
This is the fun part. The running gear here is something of an unknown quantity. We can see that the 1500 motor is there, of course, so that’s a start… but given that its last MOT expired in 2008, we can probably assume that we’re either looking at a rebuild or a replacement here. Not the end of the world either way, but something to factor in. Naturally, given the nature of the Fiat being a non-runner, we can’t make any promises about the transmission either, or the suspension, steering or brakes. The car is free enough to be pushed around though, so you shouldn’t have any problems loading it onto a trailer.dsc_2016_51007345277_o.jpg3.3 MB
The Appeal
This is a bit different to the other cars going through Car & Classic Auctions right now; we normally like to highlight quality examples of unusual cars that people can jump into and drive away, but we thought that this project looked too interesting to pass by. If you’ve read this far, we can probably deduce that you know a little bit about X1/9s, and it’s reasonable to assume that this car will be bought by an X1/9 enthusiast who knows what makes these cars tick. If that’s the case, great – you’ve most likely already started to draw up a mental checklist of what work needs doing, and cross-referencing that with the spares you’ve got on the shelf. If not – equally great… because there’s a wealth of information out there on these cars, and it looks like pretty much all the pieces you need are here. Make no mistake, this is a purchase that will involve a further investment in time and money – but for a last-of-the-line example of a beloved and revered sports car, this will be an outstanding opportunity for the right buyer.
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