The Untold Story Of The Fiat X1/9 Abarth

Manufactured in over 150.000 units between 1972 and 1989, the Fiat X1/9 is fondly remembered for its unique style and excellent handling. But what if I told you that the Fiat X1/9 could, at one point, have become a rally champion?

Fiat X1/9 Abarth Prototipo (picture from the Author)

Buckle up, as this is the untold story of the stillborn Fiat X1/9 Abarth, the mid-engined rally monster that never was.

Heart transplant

Our story begins in 1974 at the Abarth works of Corso Marche in Turin, where one of the earliest X1/9 produced, one of the press cars used during the model’s launch in Sicily in November 1972, is being rather unceremoniously stripped and cut up.

The surgery, operated under the direction of Abarth’s chassis designer Mario Colucci, was needed to make room for a much larger powertrain: a five-speed gearbox mated to Abarth’s “type 232” inline-four engine, the same used on the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth “Group 4.” Fed by two Weber 44IDF carburetors, the twin-cam 1.8 liters engine produced around 200HP.