53 Cool Concept Cars… Part V

There are endless options to transplant modern drivetrains into older rides.  After all, it is the second oldest form of hot rodding… the first being ‘put in a BIGGER engine’.  And third in line is wringing more power out of the existing engine platform.  (just my opinion, not a provable timeline).  Somewhere in there is removing weight (stripping fenders and such was done to lower the weight and make the cars accelerate better).

It seems that retro-fever is sweeping many of the automakers.  The New Bettle, Mini Cooper, Mustang, Camaro and Challenger are all prime examples of retro-inspired design.  And while many of these designs are cool (I like several of them), retro-futuristic designs of the 1950s and 60s are still cutting edge.  The Chrysler Turbine car, Pontiac Firebird Concept, 57 Olds F-88 Concept and the Buick LeSabre concept are all prime examples.  And each of those cars was designed looking forward… or looking sideways at the aeronautics industry.

As a side note, the Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter is one of my favorite recent motorcycles.  Its design is VERY reminiscent of the old Indian Chiefs.

Back to the subject…  Since AMC is gone, why not resurrect the AMX?  It might have been the best looking car to come from AMC’s design studios, and was also likely the coolest.  It competed (quite well) against the Mustangs, Camaros, Cudas and Challengers of the day.

Since Chrysler bought out AMC, it would only be appropriate to run the 6.1L Hemi from the SRT-8 series cars.  Of course, a modern 5 speed automatic with overdrive would be on tap to back up the 425hp Hemi.  Fat tires and a better suspension design would be in the works, too.  The old suspensions were very bad at keeping the inside front tire from looking like something broke when they were cornering hard.

I think it would be fun… and since the AMXs have been so overlooked by the mainstream, there would be a lot of people wondering exactly what it was.

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