X1/9 VS Edition??

Yep, they're real

There was a special edition in 82 that was badged as a Fiat. It had the same red leather interiors as the Bertone badged cars. Although I never saw a pillar label like the one in the pics in person, I trust that it is real from the crazing it has. The rest of the world also had the VS, although I believe that VS editions lasted a few years in Europe.

Arman
 
VS stood for "Version Speciale"... Based on everything I have read, these were the first of the Bertone cars and had all the options... ...and correspondingly a high sticker price.

I don't think any USA cars were VS badged, although in the UK and Europe they came with a "VS" decal on the targa bar...

Phil Ward's X1/9 Collector's Guide has some information on the subject.
 
This is one of the rare "real" VS cars for the US market.
It is nearly the same series like Europeans "IN" and . As far as I know they wanted to call them "LTD", but Ford was owner of this brand name.

This VS is no. 042 of 500!

 
Dierk said:
This is one of the rare "real" VS cars for the US market.
It is nearly the same series like Europeans "IN" and . As far as I know they wanted to call them "LTD", but Ford was owner of this brand name.

This VS is no. 042 of 500!
Click to expand...

Interesting... Were these brought into the states as "Fiats"?... or were these the first of the IAI (Malcolm Bricklin) cars.

I've never seen that "VS" badge before...
 
Dierk said:
This is one of the rare "real" VS cars for the US market.
It is nearly the same series like Europeans "IN" and . As far as I know they wanted to call them "LTD", but Ford was owner of this brand name.

This VS is no. 042 of 500!

Click to expand...

Fascinating! By the way, how did you get your own image of 042 out of 500? I see the one on the eBay ad, but it is a different view.

By the way, is this red/black interior and steering wheel original? The seat color looks a bit gaudy for a Fiat though.
 
I had #138

It was all marketing, but very Bertone in build quality though. The eBay one should have a dark Gray Metallic lower half. The Steering wheel was Red Leather, along with the seats, shift boot and door cards. Solid, not with Black. The carpet was also Red. The VS sticker is the same I had, along with the leather tags on the headrests.
Somewhere around 2000 we had a huge discussion with more insight.
 
The same car was on Ebay one/two years ago....

VS and IN modells were the first Bertone finished/sold cars. I think a lot of parts like hood batches etc. were still from FIAT production left. So Bertone had used them.

Here is a picture from a German "IN" series. The cars were badge here with "FIAT" - I think it was the only X1/9 modell with these FIAT side badges.



As James told, the color of the lower sides and the mixture of black/red on seats etc. isn´t original.

Typ_F_2.jpg


More pictures from a "IN" in Germany...
http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx?id=vsk4ncakq3uz&make=28&model=1755&extcidm=7626a000132660||255872
 
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I bought a set of the 'Fiat' targa vents from europe , and now it seems Ive either lost them or threw them away :wall: If anyone has a pair they'd sell, let me know please
 
The VS model in the UK

We've plenty here. Ran for 2/3 years and most were red over charcoal though some were yellow over black or silver over black. The rarest I've seen is orange over black. Our VS's had predominently red carpeting and full red trim, bar the dash which was black.
As noted Phil Ward's book explains them all.
All I've seen had the VS logo above the Bertone vent in the roll hoop.
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&query=Fiat+x1%2F9+VS&img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.x1-9ownersclub.org.uk%2Fcarofthemonth%2F2009%2F05_big1.jpg&site=&host=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.x1-9ownersclub.org.uk%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3D05_2009&width=135&height=65&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages-partners-tbn.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AGUYYMZizPgmmzM%3A%3Awww.x1-9ownersclub.org.uk%2Fcarofthemonth%2F2009%2F05_big1.jpg&b=image%3Fquery%3DFiat%2Bx1%252F9%2BVS%26page%3D11%26s_it%3Dtopsearchbox.image%26oreq%3D8e6d698c3a1b60ef%26imgsz%3D%26s_dc%3D18%26oreq%3D6f8d271324492bb2&imgHeight=287&imgWidth=600&imgTitle=fun+and+%26quot%3Binteresting%26quot%3B+%3Cb%3EX1%2F9%3C%2Fb%3E&imgSize=56301&hostName=www.x1-9ownersclub.org.uk

'Cept this one!
 
Yes, but this is a later series. We´re talking about the 500 cars limited "VS" (also "LTD") US-series like in UK the "IN" series.
 
VS

Version Speciale.

All VS cars here in the UK had two tone paint and leather interior.

Graphite (dark metallic grey) and red paintwork with black leather seats, door cards and carpet. Black dash.

Two tone silver paintwork with red leather seats and door cards. Carpet could be red or black. Black dash.

Two tone metallic blue paintwork with either beige leather interior and beige carpet, or black leather seats and black carpet. Black or brown dash.

There were other colours across Europe, but those are the X19/VS colours for the UK. I have a lovely full colour brochure somewhere.

Hope that info helps.

Regards,

Mickey
 
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