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.”
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.”
CZmarlin/Wikimedia Commons
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
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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