Fiat X1/9: la piccola TARGA che ha conquistato l'America, torniamo SU STRADA

The X 1/9 is a decidedly original car in the history of Fiat. It is in fact the only car with a central engine ever made by the Turin company, and it is also the only one to have come out on the market while maintaining the original name of the project. Furthermore, it can boast of being the only Fiat with retractable headlights, as well as one of the longest-lived, built from 1972 to 1988. Finally, it represented one of the greatest successes on American soil where, nicknamed "baby Ferrari" despite the mere 66 HP allowed by local anti-pollution regulations (61 in California), more than 100,000 units were sold. It was designed by the great Marcello Gandini, the only Fiat he signed together with the 132. Above all, however, in our eyes, it well represents the great passion of Nuccio Bertone, who, despite it being a small car, wanted it at all costs with the engine in the center, like the Miura or the Stratos, because he believed this architecture was the most effective and fun for a sports car, even if it was only 1300 cc and 75 HP. Imposing this solution, so original (only Matra and Porsche had comparable cars in the price list) and demanding in terms of costs and construction, did not prove easy, and it is said that it was only thanks to the intervention of Gianni Agnelli, who accidentally came across a model, that the project received the green light. Trying it was a great experience, beyond expectations, as often happens with vintage cars. Thanks to its mere 880 kg of weight and the low driving position, it offers beautiful and genuine sensations, especially if you keep the engine above 4000 rpm, a regime where the 75 HP offer adequate thrust. Very in line with the times, the very long fourth gear, a solution chosen not to save money, but to allow the car to reach the mythical "over 170 km/h", a very important figure in an era in which the first line that everyone's eyes ran to was the maximum speed! A couple of errors to correct for which I apologize: 100,000 lire in 1972 was "a little more" and not "a little less" than 1,000 euros today. Also, in the test I forgot "double carburetor", but of course we meant "double body". Visit our website: www.automoto.it Subscribe to the channel:    / redazioneautomoto   Facebook:   / automoto.it   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/automoto_it... Twitter:   / automoto_it   TikTok:   / automotoit   Whatsapp: https://bit.ly/47CNr3k