What great memories were brought back by Emma Woodcock’s feature on the Fiat X1/9 Lido (Pioneer in Miniature) I bought the same model new in 1998, part-exchanging a year-old rubber-bumper MGB that was already showing signs of corrosion. The Fiat was everything the road testers of the time admired, it was like a mini Ferrari with a targa top and handling no reasonably priced British sports car could live with. My first road trip was to the nearby North York Moors on the B1257, hoping to impress my new girlfriend. On this road we were spotted by an RAF jet fighter that seemed to continuously use us as target practice but the little Fiat’s handling on that day must have surely impressed the pilot because he tipped his wings as he left, probably to RAF Leeming. I hope owner Neal Gibbons has as much fun in his car as we did in ours. My girlfriend became my partner of 38 years and I still have the original Lido brochure, Carello covers and a Lido luggage bag if Neal is interested.
I thought the Honda S2000-powered 2002 featured was great – what a breath of fresh air to see a modified classic BMW with a totally different twist on it. I have driven cars with those Honda VTEC engines inside and I have to say that they’re totally addictive – chasing the redline is so much fun and I bet that S2000 engine really makes that 2002 fun to drive. I’m all for beautifully restored, original, classic BMWs but every once in a while it’s nice to see something that breaks the mould, a car that might upset the purists but which expresses some real personality.
I had an X1/9
What great memories were brought back by Emma Woodcock’s feature on the Fiat X1/9 Lido (Pioneer in Miniature) I bought the same model new in 1998, part-exchanging a year-old rubber-bumper MGB that was already showing signs of corrosion. The Fiat was everything the road testers of the time admired, it was like a mini Ferrari with a targa top and handling no reasonably priced British sports car could live with. My first road trip was to the nearby North York Moors on the B1257, hoping to impress my new girlfriend. On this road we were spotted by an RAF jet fighter that seemed to continuously use us as target practice but the little Fiat’s handling on that day must have surely impressed the pilot because he tipped his wings as he left, probably to RAF Leeming. I hope owner Neal Gibbons has as much fun in his car as we did in ours. My girlfriend became my partner of 38 years and I still have the original Lido brochure, Carello covers and a Lido luggage bag if Neal is interested.
I thought the Honda S2000-powered 2002 featured was great – what a breath of fresh air to see a modified classic BMW with a totally different twist on it. I have driven cars with those Honda VTEC engines inside and I have to say that they’re totally addictive – chasing the redline is so much fun and I bet that S2000 engine really makes that 2002 fun to drive. I’m all for beautifully restored, original, classic BMWs but every once in a while it’s nice to see something that breaks the mould, a car that might upset the purists but which expresses some real personality.
Super coupe had test — thanks