Everyone who drove an X1/9 1300 felt that it was crying out for more power. It had the looks of a 308 GT4 or Urracco, wth road manners to match, but struggled to crack 100mph. The answers to many of these criticisms came in 1978, when the X1/9 received an uprated 1.5-litre engine and five-speed gearbox. Sadly, it also gained US-spec impact absorbing bumpers that took away a great deal of the original car’s delicate style. Still cruelly undervalued compared with more conventional sports cars, the X1/9 is a genuine scale model supercar.
info from Octane