Very nice

Just wish someone would put there money where their mouth is and actually make one of these design concepts...

I wonder is it a concept? I think CGI may be involved, anyway I WANT ONE.... come on FIAT wake up, do another retro.

The image is definatly fake in my eyes, but i like it a lot.

Look at the front vs rear wheel arch, the size difference is massive

Fake or not it looks fabulous. Come on Fiat after the success of the wonderful new 500 lets have a new X1/9 and whilst your at it a new Coupe.

It would be a small step to put this in production.
They can build it on the Alfa Romeo 4C floorplan.
Put in a 1.4 turbo 180+ and you have a quick little car.

as long as they put the engine in the right place

Never going to happen though - Abarth is near enough sunk because the management has lost interest and Fiat is strictly budget now so a little sports cars don't fit the corporate plan. That's why Alfa got the 4C instead of Abarth...

No reason why they could not or should not build it. Fiat have got capacity coming out of there ears, it costs much the same in RandD and production on any car. But they could charge twice as much as a Punto and they have lots of suitable powertrains in the family.
If they start work on it now it would be production ready for the end of the great Euro recession.
Mr Macaronie just needs to look at what Fiat was. But i fear he is tranfixed by the USA and the crap cars they like.

The current focus is on Maserati and Alfa Romeo - but we all thought Lancia was as good as dead but has done a good job of rebadging Chryslers and the reverse is allowing the sale of "quirky" european boxes into the states. Through it all Fiat *is* very much bottom of the pile, it is a simple and effective money earner for the group. Any car that is going to attract a wealthier customer isn't going to be sold under a Fiat badge - it wouldn't be sold under an Abarth badge now either (much as I hate to say it I don't think Abarth will be around in another 5 years unless the management is shaken up again).

I think we should have a go at building them ourselves, just need a small shed, leave the steel outside in the rain till it rusts, design it on the back of a cigarette packet one Friday night in the pub, bung in an engine and hope for the best. doesn't really matter if it's of poor quality or that the electrics give up every day,basically what was done with the original one!!!!!!. You never know our quality control may be better.

If you knew how many times I have *seriously* considered what it would take to create a modern X1/9 you wouldn't even jest on that idea.

Somewhere I have some very extensive notes on a variety of aspects. Not least of all is what platform you'd use as a shortcut (ye olde-stylee fit-your-own-coachwork kit car). The best fit I've found so far is ironically the replica Stratos kits as they are closest in proportions and have everything in the right place.

I already own moulds for Dallara bodywork (for the front end at least)...

The major problem is that it is a constantly moving target thanks to perpetually changing (and tightening) laws on such things - that and a huge shortage of cash.

A space-frame would be in line with FIAT policy of the early 2000s, but I don't agree with the choice of a Stratos as a basis. My humble opinion is to take one 500 Abarth (actually 2), cut it in half and weld it back to front. The trouble is that it would end up as one of those Smart Roadsters, and they didn't fare well. The crash bit is easy because you have the whole front to collapse, with no engine, which is even better. It's a dirty trick that no manufacturer reveals: crash tests are always done with the "basis" engine not because they are the most common, but because the "big" engines seriously affect the crash performance.

mid-engined A500 has already been done and is (from the videos at least) quite entertaining.

The problem with any other chassis you can find is that the wheelbase is too long to "imitate" an X1/9. Of all the production mid-engined cars I can find the two closest wheel bases are the Stratos (15mm shorter) and the Montecarlo (20mm longer). Every thing else is substantially longer (in terms of chassis design).

It isn't enough to make a car that looks like an X1/9 (or an interpretation of one), the key element that has always kept me entertained with the X1/9 is the handling. Heretical as it may be I don't think the X1/9 is actually a particularly good looking car in standard form (the 1300 is definitely better though). Sort of cute and quite possibly the best ever interpretation of the Bertone "wedge" but something doesn't quite work and I've never quite put my finger on it.

The Dallara bodywork definitely helps so it may just be a matter of proportions...

Was there an image on the thread? I can't seem to see what people are looking at?

Yes, there was an image, but the link is broken. I had a look for it, but wasn't able to find the original unfortunatly.