… but failed to do so. This concept car was built by the Budd Corp, and was presented to AMC in 1962, as a way to enter a new, untapped segment of the market. AMC turned them down. This one-off now resides at the Henry Ford Museum.
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Great looking car. I would have bought one. unfortunately, I was only 10 in 1962.
On second thought, all that power on a Rambler Ambassador chassis could have been problematic.
Well, I dunno. What I remember of ramblers is that styling was bad but they had nice features. The AMC customers were different than the ford customers so right away it would be a hard sell. Hard to say how many folks coming into the showroom would have been interested. Compared to someone looking at a falcon as a small second car or first economy car, seeing the mustang instead.
It would not let me read the article. Too much power for the Ambassador chassis? The photos appear to be an AMC 327 which was not that powerful.
The thing about the XR-400 is that it took a big leap of faith to think that it could be a winner. AMC management was too conservative to make that jump. Obviously, all the Detroit 3 had the same opinion in 1962. Possibly Ford saw it and decided that they could do it without Budd in the mix.
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But, 6 years later, AMC did enter that market with the Javelin, and that model sold in sufficient numbers to be in showrooms for 5 years.
The link is the web page for the car, 270hp is what the museum states, 1hp less than a 65 hi-po 289.
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If I remember right, ford already had the platform with the falcon. All the6 had to do was design a new body. And potential customers were already coming in to see the fords. I don’t think the javelin was that interesting style wise. Just imho. Need show room traffic. The people I knew that bought Rambler would not be interested in a more sporty car. They were proud of the fold down seats and police certified speedometer. Then Wisconsin friends bought because they were made there. Like studebaker water under the bridge. Something just felt off. Like Buick that got a reputation as an old man’s car. Hard to break. I only remember going into a rambler show room a couple times and not being impressed as a teen.
If the Falcon-based ‘65 Mustang could handle 271 hp, I have no doubt this one could handle 270 hp.
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A 1962 show car is, at best, a production model of a 1965 introduction. It would have gone head to head with the Mustang. Tough competition for a car that I think is not as attractive as the 65 Mustang.
I think the group is forgetting the AMX… a 2 seat pony car with the AMC 290 V8 up to the 390 V8. It was late to the game but it was a good looking car.
The AMX was essentially just a Javelin with a shortened wheelbase.
I just don’t have a good memory of any of it but seems to m3 there were a lot of mustangs with the straight six engines. Don5 know if the v8 was an option right off th3 bat or not. Our falcon had the six and it was slow mo.
The earliest Mustangs were available with V8s. The 260 V8 for the first 6 months quickly followed by 3 versions of the 289 V8. But a lot of cars were sold with the 170 cid 6 and later the 200 cid 6. First gen 6 cylinder cars can be identified by 4 bolt wheels.
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Pretty sure all 6 cylinder cars were 4 bolt wheels, for several years, through 1973 or so. My ‘64 1/2 had the 170, but it had a 4 on the floor, so I could pretend I was fast. What a rust bucket.
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The 1957 Rambler Rebel had no problem handling the power of the 327 AMC engine. It was one of the fastest cars of 57, along with the Chrysler 300C and Studebaker’s Golden Hawk. I think the Javelin was a good looking car and if I wanted a collector car I would much rather have one rather than the hordes of Mustangs and Camaros you see at car shows.
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Ya’ll forgot the Marlin! I liked the Marlin’s, just added a Fastback to the Ambassador like Dodge adding a fastback to the Coronet to creat the Charger.
The final year, 67, was the best, IMHO, looking.
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That is a handsome car. Timeless style.
More grand tourer and less sports car.
I never see those at cruises or cars and coffee.
IMO, the proportions of the Marlin weren’t quite right. If AMC had greenlighted production of their Tarpon prototype instead, I think it would have been more successful.
Yes, but at least the Charger’s proportions improved in the succeeding generations. For the Marlin, there wasn’t a succeeding generation.
And, for those who don’t recall the AMC Tarpon concept car, here it is:
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/amcs-pony-car/
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