In 1969, the company behind the Rambler hired Giotto Bizzarrini to help it build a mid-engine car that could run with the Italians. One of the cars from that bet just sold for $891,000.
That’s $9,000 under the low estimate, in a range that ran to $1.3 million. Still serious money for the strangest side project AMC ever paid for.
AMC wanted a true mid-engine sports car that could hang with the Europeans, and it recruited help: Giotto Bizzarrini, Italdesign and BMW all had a hand in engineering and developing it.
Dick Teague, AMC’s design chief, drew the body.
This particular car, carrying chassis number WTDO 363 2/55/55 and engine number 211X25, served as the program’s Monza test car. The auction house says its ownership history is documented, which on a prototype with no production twin matters more than the paint.
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The car recently underwent a fresh concours-level restoration. It also holds a FIVA identity card, which recognizes historic vehicles, and is registered for road use in Germany.
It has the trophy to match: Best in Class at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The drivetrain is Detroit up front and Italy out back: a 390-cubic-inch overhead-valve V-8 on a single Ford Motorcraft 4300A four-barrel, rated at 340 hp at 5,100 rpm.
It runs through a four-speed OTO Melara rear transaxle. Yes, that OTO Melara, the Italian arms maker. Suspension is independent at all four corners, and ATE hydraulic discs do the stopping.
At $891,000, is the AMX/3 a bargain next to the Italian exotics it was built to chase, or is the AMC badge still costing it money?
Images Via: Gooding Christies Auctions
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