1987 Fiat Abarth X1/9 Prototipo Replica

In 1973, the Fiat subsidiary, Abarth, developed the Abarth X1/9 'Prototipo' to replace the 124 Spider Abarth as Fiat's main rally car. Prototipo rally cars showed huge potential in 1974 being quick, light and agile and were described by test driver, Giorgio Panta, as "easier to drive and faster than a Stratos". The road cars were in development and homologation was due to be completed in February 1975 when, at the 11th hour, the parallel 131 Abarth project was chosen over the X1/9 as the main rally competition platform.

The X1/9 Prototipo used an 1840cc engine (a bored-out 1600cc 124-derived unit) with a custom 16-valve cylinder head fed by twin 44mm Weber IDF carburettors. Externally the cars sported flared wheel-arches, a small 'duck tail' spoiler and an F1-style air intake designed to feed the carburettors cool air from above the cars roof. All the X1/9 Prototipos were raced in the traditional Abarth lime-green/yellow and orange/pink colour scheme.

The prototype nature of the X1/9 Prototipo project means that the exact number of cars produced is impossible to define. Components and entire body-shells were routinely swapped and replaced as part of the development process but it's believed that just five genuine cars were produced and they now demand in excess of £100,000.

The car presented here is a well crafted and attractively presented replica of an Abarth X1/9 Prototipo. It's based on a 1987 X1/9 which our vendor has developed over the past ten years for hill-climbing and is now very competitive in its class.

It utilises a Prototipo body kit, which was fully repainted three years ago, powered by a Fiat Uno Turbo engine with a hybrid Turbo Technics turbo and charge cooler. The engine was fully rebuilt a couple of years ago (rebore, bearings, forged pistons and rods etc.) and now generates up to 208bhp depending on the map used (via a Maxx ECU on wireless tablet screen). The specification also includes Gaz coil-overs all round, camber plates, Quaiffe quick-rack steering, 7" Revolution wheels with Toyo 888 205 tyres, Corbeau fibreglass FIA seats with 4-point harnesses, MSA-spec roll bar and a fire extinguisher system. The car is fully road-legal with a current MOTand is accompanied by various spares connected with competition (full details upon request).

What a lot of fun for not a lot of money.