By nature, any American Motors product that isn’t a Jeep has to be an acquired taste. Some, like the Hornet and Javelin, are easily picked up. Others, like the Pacer and Gremlin, suited only those who could tolerate them. But was there an in-between point, where there was enough of that American Motors quirk to satisfy those who wanted to be different, but enough to like than many people not interested in Kenosha products normally could appreciate what they were seeing? I believe this 1974 Matador Brougham could be it.
The Matador is a puzzling car. Somehow, AM managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat with this car…it replaced the previous Matador/Rebel two-door, managed to slide into the place of the soon-to-be-killed Javelin, and managed to be a hit for a company that desperately needed one. It didn’t share a platform with another car, like the Hornet/Concord/Eagle/Gremlin/EVERYTHING platform did. And, yes, you could get it as a big-block, four-speed looker if you wished. For once, I don’t mind the railroad tie bumpers on this model…it looks great. All-black suits the body lines, there’s no vinyl roof, and there’s just the right amount of menace to the car. All day long, folks…weird or not, this Matador coupe would be a fun ride.
But oh, the price. Ok, let’s be real: oddly optioned coupe with big block, four-speed, black paint and the cachet of being “rare”. What do you think it’s going for? Fifteen grand? Thirty grand?
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IS THE BUY-IT-NOW PRICE.
If anybody needs me, I’m looking for an aspirin.
eBay Link: 1974 American Motors Matador coupe Brougham 401
“A holy grail car”? You have to be high to pay that price and the kicker is it has reached $45K so far, and reserve not met!
Love these cars but not that much!
Yeah, he’ll be hanging onto that for a while…
I am an AMC fan,but. There has to be some really odd ball big money people bidding on this. I get that its a rare find,however its an AMC.My guess would have been maxed out at $25,000.00.And to think its way above that with a lot of time left on the auction. This will be interesting to see the final bidding
Maybe it includes the plane conversion kit from The Man With The Golden Gun. Then it’d be worth $250k.
THIS!!!!!
I blame the Ass Monkey for this kind of stupidity…
“TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IS THE BUY-IT-NOW PRICE.”
BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! sniff, sniff BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
What Turbo just said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m reminded of the saying “Just because it’s rare doesn’t mean it’s worth a lot”
Who would pay even $25 for this huge ugly pile of shit is beyond me!
Sellers tactic worked, by listing the car at such an outrageous price he got tons of free exposure World wide!
Who is Holly Grail ? And why is her car special?
For another 158 comments see below.
https://barnfinds.com/250000-1974-amc-matador-brougham/
1. Say AMC Big Block again and I’m going to choke someone.
2. I now have a black 74′ AMC Matador Coupe for sale for the low low price of 25K.
3. I’m super jealous of how clean this specimen is, but I’d get a Ferrari if I had that kind of money.
I am a AMC , but what is lacking is the documentation to support his claims
Auction closed at $55,000.
Yikes.
$56 grand,……….for a car that couldn\’t fetch $1,900 a few years ago……..?
Did it actually sell above the reserve price though?