MotorWeek | Retro Review: '82 Fiat X1/9

Had this car 1995-98 in high school, all the guys would make fun of it but all wanted to ride in it and would secretly tell me they actually liked it. Girls really loved it.😉

Back in the 90s, I'd buy these, restore/fix them (timing belt, valve adjustment, water pump, rebuild the weber carbs, set timing, new plugs, bleed breaks, install pads, re-wire headlights), drive them for a few months (incl. commuting), then Sell them. This was the 90s. I never paid more than $600 for 'em. Never any issues once I 'sorted them out'. Always made at least a $500 (net profit) when I sold them. These were fun, solid cars.

designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, this went on sale in 1972, ten years later it still looked fresh... Toyota took notice and brought out the similar MR2 in 1984.

in '89 as a senior in HS i had this car. it was a '79 and i paid 1200 US bucks. it didn't say Fiat, the side said Bertone so i explained to my curious classmates it was Italian and made by the same company that designed the Lambo's and Ferrari's which was true. it never broke down on me and got looks everywhere being few knew what it was. never won any races but sure hooked up with girls due to the mystic behind it. i am now 50 and have a 2016 VW Golf. yes, i do miss my youth

I owned a '74 X1/9 for four years and found it to be a great car. Of course I did my own maintenance. After some upgrades, new Italian exhaust system, cam, Weber carb. I sold it and bought a '79 Alfa Spider. There's only so much HP that you could get out of a little 1296. The X1/9 was the fastest spinning car I'd ever driven and ended up being more reliable than the '84 Supra (cams @ 34,000 miles & sucked a valve @ 115,000) that I purchased years later. Sure the general maintenance was more but when you do it yourself it was pretty simple.

My ex-wife and me owned a '79 for 9 years and we had virtually no problems with it.   I put in a high capacity (55 watt) alternator and replaced 1 CV joint and that was it for issues!!  The dealership put on some aftermarket rustproofer and it never had any corrosions issues.  I did all of the maintenance and while not especially easy to work on, it was still easier than my current GTI to work on.  I really, really wish I had that car right now!!!!

I learned to drive a stick shift on a Fiat x19!!!

I owned one for 10 years, as my only car. I drove it across the country many times, it never broke down on one of those trips as I did my own maintenance (simple and easy to work on) and made sure everything was ready to go go go. It was a lot of fun to drive, it did rust out on me, so it had to be traded in,... for a new Corvette for 10 years, then it was sold too, for a Jeep, (talk about maintenance!) The X-1/9 is the car I still miss....... it was a lot of fun to drive. I would buy another one if the wife would let me!

I own a 1981 Fiat X19 which I bought in the early 90's.  I have driven it all over creation.  I could move all my luggage and dorm equipment in the car each semester.  Raced it in SCCA solo events and often beat cars with twice the horsepower.  The down side is the horsepower in stock form but the mid range power and the thorough bread DNA (it was designed by Bertone and raced by Abarth as a Group 4 Rally car which beat the Lancia Stratos but was cancelled due to internal politics giving the Stratos the opportunity to win three world constructors championships).  The engine is essentially half a Ferrari 308.  Steve Hoelscher won 4 national SCCA Solo titles with the car.  His car could pull 1.5 g on the skid pad and transition at 4 g per second.  On the way he logged 20 consecutive national event wins, and a total of 50 national event wins.  His average SCCA Nationals placing was 2.4.  He set 3 records for the largest margin of victory.  I have never had to do anything other than normal maintenance.  Bought mine for $1200 in the early 1990's and still enjoy having it today.

One little quirk they never talked about was the vertical rear window just behind the seats... at night the oncoming cars headlights would reflect into your rear view mirror and would appear like you had a car behind you coming up about 120 MPH... took some getting used to....

Can't remember the last time I've seen one of these.

i bought one 2 weeks, i ago, i'm waiting to install a new timing belt, then take it for a ride. i hear it is a blast to drive!

Throughout my years of sports car ownership I've owned a 124 Spider, a couple of Spitfires and three Datsun/Nissan Z"s, but the most "fun" I ever had driving was with my X1/9.

My dream car as a kid. Still a great design and a fun little car.

I remember in the early 80's walking to high school everyday passing the Fiat dealership and wishing I had one of these....LOL

I've been a fan of MW since the very beginning. THANK YOU for helping me become as knowledgeable as I have over the years!

People take so many pot-shots at reliability. Just take car of your car and it'll run forever. Basic maintenance and DRIVING it now and then goes a looooooong way. I still have my 1983 Delorean and it runs like a dream. I delivered pizza in it for 2 years...torture for any car. Always starts on the first crank. Always gets me where I'm going, roads or no roads.

I've owned lots of cars in my years and X1/9 was the best of the best in handling and FUN car! I wish to have a chance of owning such a great fun car, again. It's the only pure sports car. Convertible, 5 speed on the floor, mid engine, 4 wheel disbrakes, no computer managing the wheels and balanced. It's the only disc brake system that doesn't lock-up! Also, the most reliable car I've ever owned. Drove this car coast to coast passing through the Mojave desert (summer time) with no problems. You have to keep the engine in at least 4000 rpm and it won't fail on you. Drive it like a Honda and you're gonna need a tow truck. Italian cars are designed to be revving to red line in all gears.

One of the best looking sports cars ever!

Still one of the best (in my opinion) looking cars out there.  Yes, it's slow...but it just looks fantastic and handles phenomenally.