Cars One Love Blog about cars
Until the arrival of the Xl/9, if you wanted a mid-engined sportscar you had to have deep pockets. But when this pint-sized sportster appeared in 1972, it really put a cat among the pigeons. With a free-revving engine mounted in the middle for great balance, disc brakes all round and a removable roof panel for fresh air driving, the Xl/9 was unique – and would remain so until the arrival of the Toyota MR2 in 1984.
At first there was а 1290cc engine, then a 1.5-litre unit from 1978. Even with this bigger engine the top speed was just 112mph;buttheXl/9 was still massive fun.
