The list of the most desirable muscle cars from the golden age of performance are well known: Camaro, Mustang, Challenger, and GTO. These cars, as icons of an era, command serious coin. That should not dissuade the most discerning (and budget-minded) collector, because there are still overlooked affordable gems to be had, such as the AMC AMX.
Despite the company’s reputation for building sedate economy cars, the AMX looked the business when it appeared in showrooms in the late 1960s.
The American Motors Corporation was founded in 1954 as a result of a merger between the Hudson Motor Car Company and the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. While the company initially struggled to get a foothold in the market, they hit pay dirt when the AMC Rambler won the 1959 Mobil Economy Run, a fuel efficiency competition conducted by real-world road testing. As a result, the company set its focus on entry-level economy cars. By 1960, AMC was the third most popular brand of automobile in the United States, behind Ford and Chevrolet.
But the shockwaves sent across the industry by the introduction of the Pontiac GTO for the 1964 model year couldn’t be ignored. By the mid-1960s, nearly every American auto manufacturer had a player in the muscle-car game. While Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler focused most of their attention on the GTO’s formula—a full-sized engine in an intermediate coupe body—AMC had another idea.
In 1968 they introduced the American Motors eXperimental, or AMX. Unlike the Chevelles and Barracudas of the day, AMC threw its most potent hardware in a compact two-seater. By ditching the excess weight found in those larger intermediate bodies, AMC had a serious street machine right out of the box. According to AMC, the AMX was designed to “appeal to both muscle car and sports car enthusiasts, two camps that rarely acknowledged each other’s existences.”
Stuffed into that compact chassis was some serious firepower: A 390 cubic-inch big block V8 with forged internals, dishing out 315 horsepower.
AMX models equipped with the 390 cubic inch big-block V8, like this sinister example, not only had the firepower to hold their own at stop-light drags, they were also a force on road courses across America. In fact, in January 1968, two specially-prepared AMXs set 106 world speed and endurance records at Goodyear’s track in Texas, driven by world land speed record holder Craig Breedlove.
In terms of sales, AMC had a tough time shedding its economy car image when trying to convince performance enthusiasts to opt for an AMX instead of well-known commodities like the Dodge Charger and Buick GSX, so the AMX fell into relatively obscurity after the muscle car craze died down in the early 1970s.
The AMX’s compact proportions might not have given it as much road presence as the bigger intermediate-bodied muscle cars of the day, but without all that extra weight, it proved to be a formidable performer.
However, because of its performance and rarity, the AMC AMX is on the rise again. At the same time, due to its outsider status, the prices have not gone through the roof yet. That’s a sweet spot for smart collectors. Restored AMXs like this restored 1969 AMC AMX 343 can be had for a fraction of the price of its similarly optioned, well-known counterparts. If you’re looking for an affordable way to get into an original muscle car with all the goodies, it’s a great time to turn your attention to the AMX.
See AMC AMX Cars for sale on eBay.
