1984 Bertone X1/9 Test: Simply Delightful

From the November 1984 issue of Car and Driver.

Per car produced, there are probably more drivers gone mentally sideways and grinning to themselves over the X1/9 than over any other volume car in the world. Otherwise sensible citizens gush all over this wedgy little runabout, get downright boring on the subject, refuse to concede that it has flaws just like any other car.

The news is that this crazy enthusiasm is here to stay, never mind that the X1/9 was originally sold as a Fiat and that Fiat subsequently abandoned the American market. In the interim, the Fiat assembly line has been packed up and moved down the road to Bertone—the firm that originally built the bodies. And a new organization—International Automobile Importers, located in Montvale, New Jersey—has been formed to bring in the X1/9, now branded Bertone, and the reincarnated Fiat Spider, now called Pininfarina Azzurra. So the best part of the old Fiat line is once more available.

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Aaron Kiley|Car and Driver

In the case of the X1/9, the car is better than ever. If you think back to all the sensuous qualities that gave Fiat a good name in this country—the hummingbird motors that revved their hearts out and the slick shifters and the flingable nature of the cars themselves—if you take these engaging traits and upgrade them right to the leading edge of today's automotive accomplishment, you've got the Bertone X1/9. What a delight. The five-speed shifter is precise yet beautifully damped, like rowing a screwdriver through a bucket of STP. The engine charges for the 6900-rpm redline—not too quickly, because there's only 75 hp under the lid, but with that half-refined, half-pagan growl that's totally seductive. And the car is so agile, like a new pair of Nikes. This isn't driving, it's liberation on wheels.

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Aaron Kiley|Car and Driver

In its takeover of the X1/9, Bertone did more than just peel off the Fiat labels. The car has been rubbed on, cleaned up, decked out. The seats, the door panels, and the steering-wheel rim are covered with leather now. The fit of the carpeting is no longer embarrassing. There is upholstery in the trunks, both front and rear. Even a pair of soft bags, sized to fit the rear compartment, are a part of the deal.

You get the idea that, finally, the X1/9 is more than a Fiat. It's a real car. Air conditioning, electric windows, and a fancy digital stereo radio/tape player are standard equipment. There is a seven-year rust warranty on the tin parts and two years (unlimited mileage) on everything else. All this and Nuccio Bertone's signature on the dashboard. Something for everybody.

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Aaron Kiley|Car and Driver

That is, provided you, the driver, are not of man-mountain proportions. This is a little car, only 156.2 inches overall on an 86.7-inch wheelbase. It weighs 2191 pounds. It doesn't want to know about lumberjacks and football linemen. Actually, it's bigger inside than ever. The floorpan has been reshaped, the seat lowered slightly, the padding rearranged. A six-footer, size 40 long, now fits quite happily, though that may be the upper limit for comfort. Humans much bigger than that have to really want to.

But small size should not be viewed as a hardship here. To the contrary, it's part of the X1/9's special joy. This is an intimate sports car, big enough for two yet cozy, enveloping, involving. There's no messy overhang to inhibit your best moves. Your driving becomes unencumbered. You can dart about as free as a thought. Big cars, no matter how well coordinated, are never so liberating. And they never engender the affection that spontaneously brims up for a car so small that you feel you could wrap your arms around it in a big hug.

The X1/9 has always made people want to hug it. And make excuses for it. It's this second part that seems to have changed in the Bertone. Finally, there are no rough edges in the interior. And the body has none of the usual convertible shake, even though the roof panel lifts off to reveal nothing but blue sky between the windshield frame in front and the targa bar behind. From every vantage, this seems a neatly executed sports car that just happens to be small.

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Aaron Kiley|Car and Driver

Small in every dimension, that is, except price. A window sticker of $13,990 (there are no options) seems a bit stiff at first. But if you want a two-seater that behaves as sweetly as this one does, there's really no other choice.