When it comes to old school muscle, there are two types of cool: Traditional cool, like the GTO Judge, the Camaro, and the Charger R/T, and ugly cool. Ugly cool includes the Mustang II, The Citation X-11, the Maverick, and the Dodge 600. But the king of ugly-cool muscle is the AMC Gremlin.
This thing is hideous and we love it. The Gremlin is one of the first “sporty” sub compacts ever made, rolled out of American Motors’ plant in 1970. The Gremlin’s very foundation is based on ugliness, with the car’s profile based on the Hornet and Javelin. You may recognize the Hornet as granddad’s wagon, or mama’s grocery-getter.
Crunched Up Muscle
The Gremlin took those relatively attractive muscle cars and somehow managed to make things very bad: A pronounced hatchback tail stood nearly vertical compared to most other hatches, while the front end looked like it tried to mimic every squared off 70’s family saloon on the road at the time. We give the Gremlin credit, for its front fascia kind of resembled the scowling, mean look of a 70’s Mustang or Chevelle. Two simple rounded and exposed headlights mated with a flat faced, rectangle grille – certainly not a head turner, but acceptable muscle-car at the time. Beyond that, the Gremlin was all broken mirrors.
The First “American-Built” Import
Designer Bob Nixon reportedly wanted the Gremlin to compete with the Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla, branding it as the “first American-built import”. The Gremlin didn’t start off as this ugly bug, though. Design Chief at American Motors, Richard Teague, specifically wanted a compact version of the AMC Javelin. At first glance, The Javelin seems like it took combined inspiration from the Mustang and Camaro. The end result, unfortunately, was a neutered Javelin front end with a rear end that looks like it was lopped off a Peugeot 104.
The Gremlin took inspiration from AMC’s Javelin
Small, Lightweight, Fast
So the Gremlin was ugly as sin, but it was also quite fast. It saw action at many auto racing events, including road courses, drag strips, and endurance runs. The Gremlin even competed well against the BMW 2002 and Alfa Romeo GTV, two euro compact sports that have their own cult followings.
The Gremlin’s reputation was quickly salvaged when AMC Pro Stock racer Wally Booth marketed the car. Dick Arons, the legendary muscle car builder, made race engines for the Gremlin and the AMC team painted the little beast in the company’s famous red, white, and blue pattern.
With a curb weight of less than 2,600 pounds, The Pro Stock Gremlin was unbeatable. One Pro Stock, restored with an AMC 6.6L V8 and driven by Rich LaMont, made a quarter-mile time of just 8.75 seconds at over 150 mph. Although the 304 CU V8 produced a relatively meager 210 horses, it was more than enough to move the tiny Gremlin around quickly.
Rich LaMont’s Pro Stock Gremlin was a monster at the track, running mid 8’s
Once it was learned the Gremlin could easily put down impressive times at the track, the car took off in popularity, quite literally. Over 670,000 Gremlins were built in a single generation before the AMC Spirit superseded it in 1978. During that time, available I6 and V8 motors gave the Gremlin plenty of street muscle. In 1972, when the Gremlin received its 5.0L V8, sales skyrocketed 15%.
Rare but Loved
Few Gremlins are available today, but the ones that come available on the market fetch a few thousand dollars for a dead rolling chassis. Gremlins running and driving with the 304 V8 fetch at least $10,000 to $15,000. If you want to drive one of America’s ugliest, smallest, yet seemingly successful muscle cars, you found it.
