For 1964, Rambler gave the compact American the only clean-sheet from the ground up redesign, something that was sorely needed. The prior generation had been introduced in 1950 as the Nash Rambler and had lasted not only through two generations of body design, but two corporate names. The new American had gained interior room, cargo room, and rode on the economy marketing that Rambler had employed for decades. And it worked…the press loved the new generation Rambler and it pretty much cemented designer Richard Teague’s status Rambler, and on to American Motors.

The American, like other Rambler/AMC products, was also found overseas. Pars Khodro, an Iranian manufacturer, built Americans under license as the “Aria” and the “Shahin”, while Australia, Mexico, and South Africa built knock-down kits for sale. In Argentina, however, things were just a little bit different. Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA) scored an agreement with American Motors to license the majority of the American, however IKA wanted to build a product that had the ruggedness of an American automobile, but had the style of something European. The result was the IKA-Renault Torino, mostly Rambler American, but with some elements of Rambler Classic (the predecessor to the Rambler/AMC Rebel), including the front subframe rails from the classic that were longer than the American’s. These rails were long enough that they effectively acted like subframe connectors. The car had one inch in wheelbase on the American and used Argentina-manufactured inline-sixes that ranged from 2.9L to 4.0L.

So it’s a Rambler American that looks like an overweight Lancia Fulvia for the Argentinian market. Big whoop, right? Actually…yeah, it is. Torinos are held in high regard in the country because of one race they were entered in: the 1969 Nürburgring 84 Hours. That isn’t broken up, either…that’s three entire days of racing on the Green Hell. There are people that wreck their junk in the first quarter-lap of the 12-plus miles each one takes. Eighty-four hours straight isn’t just an endurance run, that’s testing the patience of your deity and hoping your driver doesn’t start snoring on the long straight. IKA entered three Torinos in this event, squaring off against BMWs, Fulvias, Renaults, Datsuns, Mazdas, Porsches and the like. In a Fiat 125 was Luca di Cordero Montezemolo, the guy who was president and chairman of Ferrari until the fall of 2014. This wasn’t a gentle drive, this was going to be the racing equivalent of Saw: whoever was left standing last would be the winner.

Officially, the winner of the race is a Lancia Fulvia. The truth is more like this: the #3 Torino ran the most laps at 334. But due to penalties that came about when the Adenau Polizei threatened to shut the race down due to a claim that the Torino was too loud. Whether that was a legit call or a move to save European face, who knows. But the Argentinians back home didn’t care. Their car, the Torino, proved that it could win. Even with the penalties and the resulting fourth-place official finish, the Torino was still ahead of a Porsche 911, BMW 2002, Alfa Romeo Guilia, and Mercedes 220D. The Rambler with an accent has that aura of legend about it. The Argentinians are rightfully proud of the car. And AMC had plenty to be proud of as well.