AMC AMX/3
Ever see an American sports car that is somehow more genuine, organic, beautifully curvaceous and wonderfully exotic than any European supercar? You’ve truly been blessed if you’ve ever spied an AM AMX/3, because this is one unique U.S. coupe that fits the bill.
The regular ole’ AMC AMX was a two-seat GT-style sports car made from just 1968 to 1970. It largely resembled all the other late 60’s fastbacks of the time, offering little differentiation aesthetically, and few head-turning figures when it came to performance. Numerous V8 motors were optioned and the standard AMX sported a wide, frowning grille with two round headlights. It swooped back dramatically to the rear, completing the fastback look – yadeee, yadee, yah. Same old.
But the AMX/3 is something else entirely. It’s beautiful. It’s an ultra-rare American super car that was barely produced yet immeasurably impactful on American sports car engineering. Ever stare at a rendered concept car and think, “man, I wish they’d actually make it look like”? The AMX/3 is one of few examples.
Originally shown as an engine-less concept in 1970 at the Chicago Auto Show, but the AMX/3 was produced (thankfully) after American Motors requested 30 more operational cars. The AMX/3 body mold was sent to Italian GT maker Giotto Bizzarrino, whose team fabricated each car by hand, from the engine to steel body.
The AMX/3 used AMC’s 6.4L V8 mated to an Italian OTO Melara 4-speed transmission. Considered one of Bizzarrino’s finest creations, the AMX/3 is a uniquely American exotic that, while physically built by an Italian, was an American creation in true spirit. The steel chassis boasted one of the stiffest configurations ever made, dramatically improving performance over other European benchmarks. That was all thanks to a semi-monocoque design, the same configuration found on other one-off exotics.
BMW engineers plainly summarized the AMX/3 better than this writer ever could: “[The AMX/3] is a world-class contender among the mid-engined super car elite of its time”. Although original projections called for a yearly production run of 5,000, just 5 cars were completed before the program was canceled, making this top U.S sports car just as rare as it is coveted.
