A unique American 2-seat high-performance car

Change of an image continued at American Motors when the hot AMX was introduced to the public in February 15, 1968. AMC came up with a short wheelbase, performance chassis, and serious power -- a 2-seater in the Grand Touring (GT) tradition, -- and priced it to fit the average wallet: "The Walter Mitty Ferrari."

The original AMX (American Motors eXperimental) concept was developed beginning in October 1965 in AMC's advanced styling studios under the direction of Charles Mashigan. Mashigan was also one of the lead designers for several other legendary automobiles, including the Ford Thunderbird and the Chrysler Turbine. An article, "A Quiet Legacy: How Charles Mashigan Left His Mark On the American Road" described his many contributions.

Chief AMC designer Richard A. Teague kept his staff working on innovative derivatives of existing models. Recalling a talk with his stylists, Teague said "we decided to do a really hot 2-place car - one like Ferrari would do, but instead of ten a year, design it so we could build 10,000. I said one of the things I'd like to see in a car was a rumble seat and they looked at me like I was from the moon."

Early in 1966 the AMX sports car idea continued as the "AMX II" which was designed by an outside consultant. This fiberglass-bodied car was part of "Project IV," a four-car ten-city touring show intended to incubate new ideas and generate excitement for AMC. Public and press reaction was very positive to the show cars and the AMX concept.

After seeing the mockup, Roy Abernethy, President of AMC, gave the go-ahead to construct a working model. Mashigan turned to Italian coach builder Vignale in Turin. A prototype with a working engine was produced in the space of only 78 days from start to delivery. This steel-bodied, working AMX Vignale was displayed at the spring 1966 International Auto Show in New York. The car was added to the Project IV tour. Meanwhile, the Javelin program was well underway for its production debut in the fall of 1967 as a completely new model in AMC's line.

This original AMX perhaps the best expression of what designer Dick Teague called the "wet T-shirt" look: smooth, tautly drawn, and compelling to the eye.

All AMX designs had very long hoods in comparison to their truncated overall length, broad rear "sail" panels, and relatively small side glass over substantial amounts of tucked under-beltline sheetmetal.

Detail differences of this "pushmobile" from a later Vignale-built running model include pull-up instead of pushbutton door handles, silver instead of red taillight lenses -- and, of course, no interior. Tunneled backlight and "flying buttress" roof treatment survived in modified form to the 1968 production AMX.

Resemblance to the later Javelin-based production model is clear, but show cars do not address practical matters such as realistic bumpers and windshield to side glass weather seals.

AMC was facing tough times with declining market share after the highly successful family-centered 1963 model year. However, Roy Abernethy, had already readied the Javelin, a ponycar in the Mustang tradition, for launch in 1968. The new Javelin borrowed heavily from the AMX in styling. After Abernethy stepped down, a financier Robert Evans, was named chairman of the company. It was Evans who stated at one of the Project IV showings that it would be a good idea to build the two-seat AMX in addition to the Javelin. Moreover, the new CEO at AMC, Roy D. Chapin Jr., was a big sports car buff.

Favorable public reaction to the Vignale AMX (the red car pictured on right in museum) convinced American Motors to translate the concept into reality -- or as close as possible given the company's perennially tight budgets. Radical styling suggestions of the prototypes such as direct sweep of windshield to door glass by removing the the "A" pillars would not be possible. Yet, the AMC was moving fast as it had just completed plans for the Javelin when it started work on the AMX. The company embarked on parallel development programs. One was to build the production AMX by modifying the Javelin. The second was to create a new car out of fiberglass. Evans was a prime mover for this alternative because he wanted the car very quickly. Moreover, fiberglass was considered a good material for low volume production because of its lower tooling costs. However, per unit costs are much higher and AMC's production technology was geared for unitized steel cars. Dow-Smith was outsourced to built two running models. These prototypes were unique in that they used unitized steel underbodies.

Although GM's low-production Corvette has been plastic since it was introduced, the feasibility analysis indicated the better route for AMC was to make the AMX using the Javelin components. Furthermore AMC's quest for rapid development meant not enough time to study the structural integrity of this fiberglass design without a rugged frame. According to Teague, many interesting designs were scrapped and thus the AMX resembles the Javelin. Other proposals included designs bearing names like Mach 1 (before Ford's Mach 1), Demon and Stiletto. The Demon design was discarded because of poor rear vision. The Stiletto had retractable headlights and would have required too many sheetmetal changes from the Javelin. The same was true of a design with a "cute but costly" duck tail that mimicked the yet to be introduced Corvette. The innovative rumble seat was also discarded because of safety concerns. Some AMC officials felt the car's safety could be challenged if it had a rumble seat, while others said it was no worse than a convertible. Nevertheless, caution prevailed.

The production AMX made use of most of the Javelin's components on a 12-inch shorter platform. It had a different roof, rear quarter panels, and hood. AMC also maximized the sports car connection by introducing the AMX to the motoring press at the Daytona Beach racing facilities in February 1968. A sign of changing AMC's image was the enlistment of Playboy Enterprises to help promote the new AMX.

AMC's designers and engineers were able to approximate the prototype's styling and proportions by making fairly inexpensive modifications to the Javelin, and the 97-inch wheelbase AMX was introduced to the public a mere 4- 1/2 months after the Javelin went on sale. Developing two new models in one year was a major undertaking for the smallest U.S. automaker with very limited resources.

John Adamson, Vice-President for engineering stated there are two basic areas of difference between the AMX and the Javelin. "One in which the Javelin will catch up is the engine," he said. "With the 390 incher, there is more power than we have ever had in an automobile. AMC "played it safe" in designing the larger engine. According to Adamson, "we decided to overdesign if we had to to make sure we had the durability we wanted since it was our first push into engines of this size." The other important difference is that while all design functions are a compromise, in the past our tendency has been to compromise cornering ability in favor of a softer boulevard ride. With the AMX we turned this approach around and now have superior handling at the expense of a superior ride."

AMC, which appeared on the brink of disaster in 1967, was using performance image to resurrect itself. It stopped advertising that the only race it was interested in was the "human race". There was no bashing of George Romney's "gas guzzling dinosaurs" made by the Big Three. AMC had a sporty new Javelin, big V-8 engines, and now the AMX -- its answer to the Corvette. AMC made a decision to go after the youth market. William S. Pickett, Vice-President for sales said that the AMX will help convince people that this is a performance-conscious company -- that we are thinking of people who like a high-performance car. "This does represent a little change in our thinking," laughed John Adamson. 

The styling group responsible for the 1968 Javelin study another clay prototype. The front end shows what became the distinctive hood and grille of the AMX. From the left are Fred Hudson, chief stylist-exterior; Robert Nixon (rear), manager of the American, Javelin, and AMX studio; Charles Mashigan, manager of the advance styling studio; and Richard Teague, vice-president of American Motors automotive design.

AMC's new marketing emphasis helped push a racing program headed by Carl Chakmakian. He began in 1967 with a modest drag strip program. AMC worked with Grant to build the Rambler Rebel funny car. The new 1968 Javelin meant plans to compete in the Trans-Am sedan races. The AMX was also viewed for expanding AMC's racing performance. Chakmakian saw the new AMX as following the tradition established in the early 1950's by the NashHealey. This was a two-seat sports car developed by Nash-Kelvinator, forerunner of AMC, in conjunction with Sir Donald Healey in England. It was marketed before the Chevrolet Corvette. In 1952 NashHealeys competed at Le Mans with one finishing in third place overall, behind two Mercedes-Benz cars. Management at AMC thus had high expectations for the AMX. The car's performance abilities were immediately solidified when it established a series of new speed endurance records with Craig Breedlove behind the wheel.

The first "American Motors eXperimental" name stuck for the car. "It had a good ring," said Pickett. "Everybody's been calling it that so we decided to officially name it AMX," said Chapin.

Click on image or here for full-size.

According to Tom McCahill, ... It is hairier than a Borneo gorilla and not the thing for Ma Peter's pie delivery route... High-styled... the AMX looks like it's doing 100 when parked... The AMX is the hottest thing to ever come out of Wisconsin... They have it suspended so that you can whip through corners and real hard bends better than with many out-and-out sports cars... Mechanix Illustrated, March 1968

Source of above quoted management references: Motor Trend, March 1968

An article about "The Greatest Cars of All Time" by Jack Nerad describes the view of automobile testers at the time of the AMX's introduction as:

Source: Driving Today

What none of them could deny was the fact the AMX had only two seats and offered plenty of performance. Amazingly, the car was offered with three engine choices: a 290 cubic inch V-8, a 343 cubic inch V-8 and an all-new 390 cubic inch V-8. The biggest engine was originally destined for the big Ambassador sedan, but it proved remarkably popular with AMX buyers. When one looks at the specs it is easy to see why. The 390 offered 315 horsepower at 4,600 rpm and a whopping 425 pound-feet of torque at just 3,200 rpm, a testimony to the old saw there's no substitute for cubic inches.

As with today's Dodge Viper, the combination of a big engine in a relatively small, light, and simple package made for high-spirited performance, at least in a straight line. When Road & Track magazine tested a 390-equipped AMX, its drivers zipped from 0-60 miles per hour in just 7.2 seconds, running through the quarter-mile in 15.2 seconds at 90 mph. But they also found the AMX a "short-legged" car. Top speed was just 104 miles per hour, thanks largely to the 3.54:1 rear end ratio.

These results stacked up decently well against the newly revised 1968 Chevrolet Corvette. A 327 cubic inch small block Vette was almost spot-on the AMX's 0-60 and quarter-mile times, while a 427 cubic inch big block would out-accelerate the AMX 0-60 and in the quarter mile by about a second. But when it came to sophistication, there was no comparison. The '68 Vette featured all-independent suspension, while the AMX had a modified sedan layout. The front suspension was independent, but the rear was a live axle arrangement with torque links and semi-elliptic leaf springs.

The AMX was equally conventional in all other mechanical areas as well. The transmission of choice was the tried-and-true Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual. Steering was by a power-assisted recirculating ball system. Big 11.1-inch disc brakes were fitted up front, but the rear brakes were 10-inch drums.

Popular press advertising for the AMX emphasized its sports car characteristics at a low price. American Motors was the first automaker to picture actual competing models.
However, rather than contemporary models this ad shows the '68 AMX against both the Corvette and the original 2-seater Thunderbird.
By 1968 these original sports cars had increased way beyond the AMX's suggested under $3,500 base price.

Craig Breedlove's Speed Records

Just prior to the AMX's debut at the Chicago Automobile Show in 1968 a team of drivers headed by world land speed record holder Craig Breedlove, piloted two AMX speedsters to smash a series of automobile record marks.

In Class C, the AMX established 90 new records, including a 24-hour average of 140.79 mph set by Breedlove and his wife Lee. Sixteen records were rewritten by the larger engine Class B AMX, including three new marks for the 75-mile flying start at 174.295 mph, and five new records for 173.044 mph for 100 miles from a standing start. The Class C AMX was equipped with the standard AMX 290 V-8, with the standard 4-speed transmission. For the Class B car, AMC's new 390 V-8 was "blueprinted" and teamed with the optional 3-speed automatic.

"Driving the AMX was really like a dream," Breedlove said. "In fact, I'd never driven a car quite like it. The steering and roll-resistance were excellent, and it ran and felt just about perfect."

The cars used for the record runs were certified as stock by USAC inspectors and were prepared by Breedlove's "Spirit of America" crew and Traco Engineering. High speed safety features were added to the already excellently designed AMXs, including roll bars and rubber fuel cell gas tanks. Breedlove said no attempt was made to lighten the weight of the AMXs. "As a matter of fact, we were probably running somewhat heavier than stock (3097 lbs.) because we were using a 37-gallon fuel cell-type gas tank," he said.

The Super Stock "SS" AMX

The best known special edition AMXs were modified for AMC by Hurst to meet NHRA Super Stock class drag racing regulations. This was AMC's offering to the muscle car horsepower wars of the era. The infamous "69 AMX SS" -- perhaps the best (race setup) -- Detroit ever offered in a production vehicle. Fifty-two AMXs with 390s and 4-speed transmissions with virtually no change to the suspension, received special equipment including Edelbrock cross-ram intakes, dual-quad Holleys, and 12.3:1 Crane modified heads. They were drastically under-rated at 340 "official" horsepower. The first out-of-the-box AMX's were running 11 second et's at over 120 mph. These AMXs were "turn-key" race cars. Later that year with a little tweaking and backing by AMC, these cars dipped into the 10 second range. Shirley Shahan's "Drag-On-Lady" was most famous of these cars.

The 2-seat AMX Model Years

The 1968 and 1969 models were very similar, but the AMX received significant styling changes for the one only 1970 model year. These included a different grille and hood, as well as a new interiors. The 1970 models also got a new front suspension, a new AMC 360 V-8 for its base power plant, as well as better-breathing exhaust ports, and a new 4-barrel carburetors for both the 360 and 390 engines.

In summary, these are truly very unique, fast, and beautiful cars!

2-seater AMX production and option statistics are available at this AMX-Files page.

The true AMX 2-seater went out of production after the 1970 model year, but from 1971 to 1974 American Motors used the "AMX" name on the top-of-the-line Javelins. In later years the name was used on variants of the Hornet, Concord, and Spirit models. Management's decision to cancel the 2-seater AMX was a big disappointment to the late Richard Teague, AMC's head of styling from 1962 until 1984. He said this in a 1986 interview published in Special Interest Autos:

• SIA: Granted, the AMX was never a volume seller. But we've always regretted that they killed it after only three seasons.
• Teague: I made a hell of a run for keeping it in for 1971 by putting the blister-type fenders on it. In fact, I built up my own car to make the prototype, and I did my damndest to sell it to Bill Luneburg -- who was a dear guy, by the way. But he was a manufacturing man and he said, "Well, it's cluttering up the line. It's a lot of work to build that car, and it's not selling well." So he killed it.
• Teague: I feel very strongly that the AMX could have kept going as a two-passenger car. It just needed a little bit more development. As it was, it gave the Corvettes a really hard time in some of the local races! If it had just had a little more development time, and had been kept in the picture for another year or two, I think sales would have started back up and it could have hung in there. Because the Corvette didn't do so well the first couple, three years, either! It takes time to develop these things. It's like a business. It may not do too well at first, but you've got to stay with it!...
• Teague: ... what I've always regretted -- that they didn't keep the AMX as an image-builder.

"Teague and his talented band of designers created an aggressively styled two-seater that was the match of anything the Big Three could offer. The AMX handled, went fast on straights and around corners, had a distinctive and attractive appearance, was (and is) fun to drive and, in sum, was everything a good sports coupe of the time should be." Source: Hemmings Motor News