When American Motors was still winning in motorsports
AMC will be forever known for being able to squeeze out new designs on a limited budget. This week’s spot is a great example of when the Spirit replaced the aging Gremlin. The automotive journalists recognized this and loved it. AMC’s designer Dick Teague’s “more-conventional” design of the new liftback coupe “had a particularly graceful superstructure for such a short car”. A road test by Popular Science described the transition as AMC having the “cleverest engineers in Detroit” cementing their reputation of “getting $200 worth of looks for $100”.
An AMX version of the Spirit liftback was offered for 1979 and 1980. It featured all kinds of performance upgrades and wasn’t all show and no go. The last AMC to feature a V8, the 304 could get it from 0-6 in about 10 seconds. I know that’s not really fast now but in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was decent. I can attest to having owned a 79 AMX that I wish I had now. These performance enhancements lent it to good results in racing circles.
RELATED Spot: 72 Javelin AMX
A pair of them competed at the Nürburgring in 1979 sponsored by B.F. Goodrich and after driving almost 2,000 miles, finished first and second in class, 25th and 43rd overall out of a field of 120. They had a huge presence in IMSA racing. An AMC Spirit driven by Dennis Shaw and Don Whittington in 1979 won the 6-Hour Champion Spark Plug Challenge at the Daytona International Speedway covering 151 laps, 579.840 miles averaging just over 96 mph. AMC Spirits also finished in 5, 6, 11, 29, 37, and 42 places out of a total of 62 starting cars.
So, let’s say you want to go racing. Here’s your opportunity: a race-ready 1978 AMC RS race car restored to what it would have looked like in 1979. It raced in many series including IMSA, SCCA, and Kelly Series. It had a variety of engines in it, both six and eight cylinders and now has an AMC 343 V8 in it along with a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed. It also has all the other race items you’ll need like a full cage, race seat, full cell, accusump, fire system, and more. It has been restored professionally by an AMC performance car collector and has won many Best of Show awards. Yours for just $16,500.
If you’re not into racing and want a really cool car that will turn heads at local car shows, they are starting to go up in value. A couple of years ago a Mecum Auction, one with just with 8300 miles sold for just over $35,000. In the car’s five-year run, ending in 1983, 192,018 Spirits were built by AMC in Kenosha. I couldn’t find AMX numbers which were only produced in the Spirit’s first two years.
This was once again an example of another one of AMC’s innovative concepts and was well executed from an engineering standpoint, highlighting creative thinking and skilled engineering on a low budget. Another reason it got lost in the marketplace was that the Spirit AMX was introduced as the new Fox Body Ford Mustang.
Thanks for stopping by and reading about my spot this week. Come back next Friday for another one of my finds along with some of its history. Have a great weekend.
Savage On Wheels 
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