Sometimes, an affordable price makes us think a car isn’t worth owning, or that the enthusiast community doesn’t love it. However, the opposite can also be true: a high-priced car isn’t nearly as special as we are led to believe by the typical numbers associated with its sale price. The Fiat X1/9 is a genuinely entertaining car with great styling, but it never seems to catch on as a true collector car, so it has stayed affordable while other makes and models have skyrocketed. Find this clean 1979 example listed here on craigslist for $8,200.
I recently spoke with a friend about the rise in prices for various Porsche models, and we both came to the same conclusion: the 964 and 993 cars, while entertaining, are also quite overpriced for what you get for $100,000. These days, the enthusiast community often builds up so much excitement around a certain car, and then new owners double down on how wonderful the experience is because they just laid out so much cash! What if the driving enjoyment isn’t as good as they hoped, would they admit it? Probably not. Meanwhile, for under $10,000, you get a mid-engined Italian sports coupe with a removable roof and Bertone styling.
Sure, build quality is suspect and the engine is far from exotic, but keep in mind what Fiat was gunning for: a more affordable sports-car experience than the pricey Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the time. If nothing else, they set a high bar for this Fiat, and they seem to have added the right ingredients to get there. A low center of gravity, ideal weight balance, and independent suspension all helped create the sensation of speed and agility even while putzing around town. The interior has held up surprisingly well despite its age and 116,000 miles, a healthy number for a vintage Italian car. The seller notes the carpet is new.
The mechanical bits are relatively inexpensive, especially for a car designed by someone who worked on the Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Countach. It didn’t have much power in any year, making around 67 b.h.p. and 76 lb.-ft. of torque. But apparently, the ’79 model year engines had some tunability and could get bumped to 100 b.h.p. or so with the right tweaks. You have to live with the ugly safety bumpers, but that was a problem with almost any European car at the time. For the money, it seems like a great way to have fun on any backroad you can get yourself to on a Saturday morning. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip.
Nice car. The Fiats and Porsche 914s were the handling fun cars of the era, not too expensive to buy, and loads of fun. Fun factor on this car should be high.
Aside from being slightly undersize for me to comfortably sit in — that goes for entry and exit, too — there’s a lot to like here. I only wish Al Cosentino and his famous catalog of Fiat and Abarth parts were still around to help spice things up a bit.
One caveat: there’s a suspicious area at the back of the left rear fender that looks like painted-over rust. I’d investigate carefully; Fiats are known for corroding, and I believe British Columbia still salts its roads in winter. Other than that, doesn’t look as if much more than repositioning the seat tracks would be needed to pique my interest.
These were built for 17 years — marketed during the last years as “Bertone X1/9” — so parts should be plentiful.
I agree. Comfort is important when driving a car, even a sports car.
Beautiful looking car. IMHO, it’s one of the best looking cars of the era.
Looks like that 116,000 is kilometers, or 72,000 miles, being from Canada.
Appears to be a good deal from our friends to the north.
In 1988 Pontiac tried to reproduce this car with the Fiero with t-tops. That is an awesome car as well. This is one of those soon to be classic that will be in my garage when I hit the Powerball/MegaMillions.
Geezer story:
I was a pilot in the Navy back in the 70s. When I got assigned to squadron in Norfolk I met an enlisted man who babysat me in Cuba before Castro took over. He was now a Chief Aviation Metalsmith and senior Chief in the squadron. He bought a X19 that had been wrecked on the right front corner. Couldn’t find a replacement fender, so he took his wife’s full length mirror to the garage, hung it on the wall so he could see the intact left front fender from the right side of the car. He took a piece of sheet steel, a hammer and a dolly and made a fender. When he was done you couldn’t tell which one came from the factory. Skills like this still exist I guess, but for me seldom seen.
Just sold my 1979 Fiat X1/9 and moving on to the little sports car I always wanted…a Porsche 914. Still can’t say how much fun the X1/9 was to drive. Although not much power the handling makes up for it. With the Targa roof you have sunshine hitting you in the face. Best of luck to both seller and buyer. You can’t go wrong with a little fun sports car like this.
Nice and stylish, but just not enough punch to make it fun to thrash around. You’d have to beg the thing to get out of it’s own way.
For an Italian feast, get an Alfa 2 litre with some engine work. Its gonna cost more, but way more fun
The entire car only weighs about a literal ton (give or take a couple dozen pounds or so depending on the year), so the power to weight ratio is better than you might think, and of course its handling is legendary. Don’t write off its fun-to-drive factor until you’ve actually driven one.
I alwas wondered if a toyota mr2 engine could be made to fit in the x1/9 especially the turbo 3sgte engine. I know that is sacrilegious but this to me would solve the reliably issues and make this car a fun reliable every driver for me.
I had a 81, same colors but the seats were smooth instead of the pattern, bumpers and wheels the same
Lots of fun in that car
From personal experience, a great car by all standards. Strangely, I never noticed any manufacturing defects. It ran like on rails and took the abuse my wife´s daughter dished out (for 50 thousand miles!) like a trooper.
Owned 3 of these over a 25 year period… the last one I had was a low mileage example in like new condition… unfortunately it was taken out at an intersection by a little girl with her 3 week old license, driving her grandparents land yacht. Witness said she didn’t even look up from her phone as she barreled thru and hit me broadside. Man I miss that car. X1/9s are fantastic rides… the perfect “slow car to drive fast”… street legal go cart. This example looks clean, but as a ’79 it is still carbureted… I much prefer the later FI versions… but it would still be fun. GLWS.
Photos are rather low resolution so it’s not easy to draw conclusions. Looks like a rust spot next to the right taillight and I worry that rockers may be dubious? In person inspection needed here – which admittedly is needed for almost all used cars for sale. While I have bought many cars sight unseen- sometimes even without pictures – that’s not something to recommend. Especially so when the price is at full market value and pictures raise a few questions
A 2000-2005 toyota mr2 is far better and reliable and is also a true convertible , sadly these fiats were far from reliable and certainly not better with time
Spoken by someone that never owned one…
This posting has been deleted by its author.
It was on Vancouver BC Craigslist with BC plates
This posting has been deleted by its author. SOLD?