Evaluation: Dull exterior plastic. Decent older respray with some masking errors and a large chip on the rear. Small dent behind the right window. Clean wheels and new tires. Tidy and maintained underneath. Newer seats and the rest of the interior is rather well preserved. For an X1/9, very clean.
Bottom Line: Based on a 1969 concept car, the X1/9 was Fiat’s way of bringing the wedge body style – popularized by expensive supercars – to the masses and predated similar-looking mid-engine two-seaters like the Toyota MR2 and Pontiac Fiero by over a decade. US sales started in 1974 and lasted until 1982 when Fiat exited the American market, although Malcolm Bricklin continued to import the model for a few more years as the Bertone X1/9.
X1/9s were priced competitively but didn’t sell in huge numbers. “Cheap” and “Italian” aren’t two words you want to hear together in the car world, and many of these little wedges rotted away years ago, so seeing this one all clean and pampered was a treat. And at 8800 bucks, it shows that there are still fun, stylish classic cars out there for entry-level money if you look hard enough.
