Interesting article, Marcello Gandini...

Black-Tooth

Tony Natoli
Open and scroll down a bit for the foto of a '72 X1/9 taking a corner... You'll find it in the article speaking to Marcello's designs.

http://magazine.windingroad.com/iss...-57883025&mc_cid=d2f1e2e904&mc_eid=e4ecb100aa

Interesting comment about Bertone... An if true, I was surprised to hear that they picked up the Spider and X1/9 primarily because of North American demand.

Note to the purists... these are the wheels and tires that belong on the '74s... but I suggest for using them for show purposes only!

Hope you enjoyed the article... Oh... and take a look at the new 707hp Dodge Challenger as well...
 
Nice...

Thanks Tony, I haven't read Winding Road in years...I guess I'll have to re-up!
 
145SR13 tires!

Look at those skinny little tires rolling under those skinny little 4.5" wide rims. I guess it takes a special kind of purist to appreciate. :)

Paul
 
great article

Thanks Tony

I have an old Laser Disc (remember those silver platters of days gone by) of Carrozzeria Bertone , with most of those designs , unfortunately the X is glaringly absent
 
Those were great tires for the time. Even as skinny as they were, they delivered pretty decent skid pad numbers.

The correct original tires were Michelin XAS tires with an asymmetrical tread pattern, they worked really well. The XAS, XVS, XWX from Michelin were the premium tires (with a most honorable mention for the Pirelli CN36) for all the exotics and GTs through the late 70s when Pirelli changed the game with the first truly low profile tire the P7.

More tire does not always mean more enjoyment. That shows a tire with great grip and a car that could actually manage it.
 
Hmmmm, Geez Karl... I didn't know you were so old...

I thought they were P3 Pirellis...

I tore up a set on an '83 or so that were rock hard in 2003 on Dick Waldrens unmolested 22K mile ride. Made the mistake of telling him to get rid of them but shoulda told him to pack them in Armorall and plastic.

I thought they were DANGEROUS! Probably were because of age... but 185/60 Sumitumos were his saving grace back in the day.
 
Hmmmm, Geez Karl... I didn't know you were so old...

I'm not that old :) a mere baby at 53...
 
The Old Fart Thread...

I had several sets of both XAS and P3's on my '75 X. The XAS was the best tire I ever had on a car until I bought Yoko's in 92 for my current car. They are long worn out, I wish they were still available...can't remember the model of those tires...another senior moment..:help:
 
Well... yur AARP eligible... HA!

I took a buy-out at 53 and wanted to double-dip with AT&T or another communications company... But God had other plans.

So I've been "retired" since then... most of my days are spent in the mental/medical communities, and on this site... which probably contributed to my overall decline!

HA!

Stay well, my friend!
 
The Yokos were likely AVS or A509. I had a set of A509s and absolutely loved them. The 509s were their low cost performance tires, the AVS were better but not as much as one might have thought given the price difference...

P3's, mmmm, not so much. A fine economy tire of the time but not much of a performer.
 
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I'm still running A509s on a set of wheels for my X1/9 and AVSis on one of the Scorpions. I'm Afraid to see how old they are. The Nittos I recently replaced on my Spider were from the Eighties.:headbang:

The Yokos were likely AVS or A509. I had a set of A509s and absolutely loved them. The 509s were their low cost performance tires, the AVS were better but as much as one might have thought given the price difference...

P3's, mmmm, not so much. A fine economy tire of the time but not much of a performer.
 
I thought they were P3 Pirellis...

My '78 came new off the showroom floor with P3 Pirellis, but in 2010 I bought a '74 with a totally untouched Michelin XAS in the spare tire compartment... So it could be that Fiat switched the base tire between those years.

That 36 year old XAS was hard as a rock and brittle too. It's in the front yard now, with a prickly pear growing out of it.
 
I believe mine also came with P3 70's, I know the spare tire was one for certain as it was unused much like your XAS was. After '75 they often came with either or until the XAS went out of production in the small size and they only came with Pirellis (which I suspect was also a Italian pride, made in Italy move). I don't think I ever saw any factory supplied XZX Michelins on an X.

I never cared for the P3, it wasn't bad but not great either. They were certainly better than any of the domestic tires of similar size but didn't feel or perform as well as the Michelins of the time.

I do have to say that I would happily buy a set of something like the P3 today if it was offered here, the small selection of warped, hard rubber Chinese and Korean tires we get is truly dismal :wall:
 
Yes, they were A509's. They didn't actually wear out. I never had a flat on them, but after 15 years (and outdoor winter storage), they were splitting between the threads. I'd buy a new set in a heartbeat!
 
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