The Pacer is one of those cars that you either love or hate. Known for its unique “jellybean” body style, it was a compact that was as wide as full-size automobile, which gave passengers plenty of room. It was conceived as an alternative to the Ford Pinto, though much less prone to fiery explosions, and wasn’t meant to be a performance model.
No matter what car is made however, there will always be a demand for a performance version, and so AMC created the “X” package that included cooler wheels and paint schemes, as well as a high output engine option. Suddenly, this dorky-looking “Flying Fishbowl” was a relatively badass street machine. It wasn’t going to beat a Mustang GT350, but it sure could light up (pun intended) a Pinto.
In 1979, AMC replaced the Gremlin with the Spirit, but it was built entirely on the Gremlin’s platform. It was actually quite a diverse platform as they used it for the ahead-of-its-time four-wheel crossover Eagle SX/4 as well as hatchbacks and sedans. Easily the coolest was the 1979 Spirit AMX liftback, known as a “Kammback.”
Power and Performance
| Engine | 3041ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 125 horsepower, 219 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Three-speed automatic |
| 0-60 Time | 10.6 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 17.6 seconds |
| Top Speed | 101 mph |
Not completely dissimilar from a Fox Body Mustang, the Spirit AMX was an affordable semi-kickass, muscle-ish car. Like all V-8s in the late 70s, the Spirit’s engine had a lot of horses knocked out of it by environmental regulations. Still, it was a quick ride and probably only slower than the Dodge Lil’ Red Express, that had an emissions loophole advantage over everyone else.
8 1965 Rambler Marlin
The Rambler Marlin was kind of a mishmash of a Ford Galaxy, Chevy Impala, and Plymouth Barracuda. The intermediate-size fastback luxury vehicle beat the conceptually-similar Dodge Charger to market by a year and was significantly more affordable. Sure, it didn’t have a 426 Hemi engine option, but it was plenty fast.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 327 V-8 |
| Engine Output | 270 horsepower, 359 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Three-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 7.1 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 15.6 seconds |
| Top Speed | 111 mph |
Actually, one ’65 Rambler Marlin had a Hemi. The Bill Kraft car dealership built one as a Funny Car and dropped in a Plymouth 426 Hemi, that shot it down the quarter-mile in 10.31 seconds at 138 mph. Since that wasn’t a real dealer option, drivers had to make due with the top-tier 327 V-8, that provided more than enough go for this eye-catching luxury muscle car.
7 1974 AMC Gremlin 401-XR
The Gremlin was a weird car manufactured by AMC from 1970 to 1978 that has built a loyal cult following. The subcompact was made to compete with the exploding Pintos and the rust-bucket Chevy Vegas, albeit in a slightly odd-looking package. Though it was considered an economy car, AMC wisely added an optional V-8 in 1972.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 401ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 255 horsepower, 345 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 8.5 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 13.9 seconds |
| Top Speed | 117 mph |
The performance times for the 401-XR are widely reported from the same unspecified source and may be inaccurate. The 8.5-second 0-60 time seems slow if the car can run a quarter-mile in 13.9 seconds at 106 mph. Also, Wikipedia says that Car Craft tested one that hit 115.07 mph in 12.22 seconds, so the quarter-mile time is probably shorter as well.
With AMC’s blessing, the Randal dealership in Mesa, Arizona built some special Gremlins known as the 401-XRs. These dealer mods had their 304 V-8s swapped out for 401ci engines, hence the name, and were 13-second track monsters. Only 22 401-XRs were ever made, making them the most desirable Gremlins in existence.
6 1957 Rambler Rebel
The 1964 Pontiac GTO is credited as the first official muscle car, but a solid argument can be made that the 1957 AMC Rambler Rebel beat ’em to it. The Rambler Rebel is at least recognized as the first factory-built intermediate-size performance car. Known up until that point as an economy automaker, AMC unleashed this “super car” that was the one of the fastest things on American streets.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 327ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 255 horsepower, 345 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 7.2 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 15.8 seconds |
| Top Speed | 121 mph |
In a retro-review, MotorTrend explained that despite having less horsepower than other Big Three’s V-8s, the Rambler Rebel’s relative lightweight and designed made it faster than everything but the fuel-injected Corvette. MotorTrend asked if this ’57 AMC was the first muscle car ever and concluded, “maybe the 1957 Rebel is closer to real muscle than we thought.”
5 1968 Javelin SST
AMC was slow to get in the pony car game, but when they came out with the Javelin in 1968, they had an affordable option to the Mustang and Barracuda that looked as good as it was fast. AMC styling team head, Dick Teague, designed a semi-fastback that he described as a car with, “voluptuous curves with nary a hint of fat.”
Power and Performance
| Engine | 390ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 315 horsepower, 425 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 6.9 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 15.2 seconds |
| Top Speed | 117 mph |
Of course, having a great looking set of wheels is meaningless if those wheels don’t go and the Javelin didn’t disappoint. Back in 1968, Car and Driver did a battle royale of the pony cars, including the Mustang, Cougar, Barracuda, Camaro, Firebird, and a Javelin SST 390. The consensus was: “The SST was everyone’s favorite because of its versatility and predictability. It was light and responsive and felt more at home being driven like a sports car.”
4 1971 Hornet SC/360
The Hornet was a compact car, introduced by AMC in 1969, that came in four-door sedan, station wagon, and two-door coupe configurations. It’s that last one that is of interest here, because in 1971 they put out the Hornet SC/360 compact muscle car. The big V-8, combined with the “Go” package’s four-barrel carburetor and ram-air induction made this one a fast little ride.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 360ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 285 horsepower, 390 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 5.6 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 14.6 seconds |
| Top Speed | 109 mph |
Due to rising gas prices and insurance rates, the muscle car market began to die off in ’71 and AMC canceled the SC/360 after only one year. As such, only 784 SC/360s were made, with a mere 304 four-speeds. The Hornet would continue production for a few more years and in 1974 one starred in the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun. Remember that awesome 360-degree corkscrew jump? That was ’74 Hornet X.
3 1971 Matador Machine Go
The AMC Matador was a midsize family vehicle that also had an evil twin muscle car version. The 1971 Matador two-door hardtop with the “Machine Go” package was wicked fast and sinfully stylish. AMC had discontinued the Rebel Machine after the 1970 production year, but turned it into a trim package for the Matador.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 401ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 330 horsepower, 429 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 6.3 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 14.7 seconds |
| Top Speed | 116 mph |
Approximately 50 Matador Machine Gos were ever built, and there are only 2 that have been verified to still exist. Street Muscle magazine wrote the definitive piece on the Matador Machine Go, calling it, “the rarest muscle car that you’ve never heard.” Even if there are some dusty barn finds out there, it might be hard to prove without a build sheet because AMC didn’t denote anything unique on the Machine Go VINs.
2 1969 AMX California 500 Special
Race car driver Craig Breedlove set a land speed record in his jet-powered Spirit of America, and he obliterated 106 speed and endurance records in a souped up 1968 AMC AMX. Though not quite as fast, the two-seat coupes for the mass market were some of the baddest muscles cars AMC ever made. Even after it was discontinued in 1970, the company would continue to throw the letters “AMX” on their performance packages.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 390ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 315 horsepower, 425 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 5.7 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 14.4 seconds |
| Top Speed | 106 mph |
There were some neat AMX limited builds like the pink Playboy Playmate and the Super Stock race car, but none was cooler than the California 500 Special. Made as pace cars for the Riverside International Raceway, they were painted in “Big Bad Green” with black stripes and included the top-tier “Go” performance package. Only maybe 32 were made and sold exclusively through Southern California AMC dealers.
1 1970 Rebel Machine
Maybe it’s that patriotic red, white, and blue paint scheme or perhaps because of its anti-establishment name, but the 1970 AMC Rebel Machine is the coolest thing the automaker ever produced. While it wasn’t the fastest muscle car in 1970, it wasn’t exactly slow either, and besides, this is a list of coolness which can only be measured in opinions.
Power and Performance
| Engine | 390ci V-8 |
| Engine Output | 340 horsepower, 430 pound-feet of torque |
| Transmission | Four-speed manual |
| 0-60 Time | 6.3 seconds |
| Quarter-mile | 14.8 seconds |
| Top Speed | 117 mph |
