(Photos: AMC_AMX3 via Instagram) The fact that Dick Teague actually got away with this program at all was a shocker. American Motors was known for many things, but they weren’t known for having the biggest development budget and they certainly weren’t known for building mid-engined supercars. The visage of Rambler was still very fresh in everybody’s mind when the AMX/2 prototype of 1966 appeared. People were throwing money at AMC reps at the Chicago as if it was happy hour at the Spearmint Rhino on the first Friday of the month…if AMC could build a legit sports car that looked like the AMX/2, the buyers had money ready. Thus entered Giorgetto Guigairo, Giotto Bizzarrini, and the not-quite-produced AMX/3. You can read the whole story HERE, but the short take is after AMC’s financial setup started taking on water heavily, the program was axed after five AMC-built cars and one Bizzarrini-built machine were completed. All of the cars were known to be in one piece, but not all of the cars were in the limelight. In particular, the first prototype car had performed a disappearing act.
We aren’t going to completely guess the car’s history. At one point Teague owned this car, though we don’t know when he took possession or when it was sold. A collector named Scotty Dawkins had been the caretaker of the car since, but when he passed on in 2016 his family had to figure out what to do with the very yellow machine that was squirreled away. That question was recently answered, as the first AMX/3 recently changed hands again. A partnership consisting of Michael Chetcuti and Kyle Evans will be restoring the AMX/3 to a fully-functioning, drivable condition. The car was recently shown at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals in Illinois in as-found condition, and we hope that the really unique five-spoke wheels seen on a yellow prototype in the early factory photos can be found or re-made to really send the look home. Dick Teague went above and beyond on the AMX/3 and it very nearly made it to production, only being killed off in the 11th hour. A shame, indeed, but at least this one gets a refreshing and a new lease on life.
What a shame AMC didn’t have the resources to put this beauty into production. It could have been developed into America’s first domestic supercar with a very hot 401 big block on quad weber downdraughts I see a distinct resemblence to the De Tomaso Pantera which would have been its main competitor. But what did we get instead? The Gremlin and the Pacer – I rest my case!
Yep ,I agree. If they would have had the money to put this into production. You would be saying now days. “Corvette” ya I remember those in the early 60’s.
In the ’80’s I went to a car club event at Dick Teague’s home and saw two of the three. He used a black one as a near daily driver and had about 100,000 miles on it. The other was literally never driven. He indicated the first prototype has disappeared into a collection but not where.
I saw one in the Balboa Park auto museum in San Diego about 10 years ago.
A lot of Pantera and Mangusta in the design, good looking car.
The coolest AMC ever built, with the 1st generation Javelin a close 2nd. But I might be biased, since I’m building a 68 Javelin!
Giorgetto Guigairo Design they all have common clues