AMC AMX/3
Most car fans know about the heroic Javelin introduced in 1968. In those days, AMC was known as an economy car brand making inexpensive models without any particular features or thrills. When a pair of hot muscle cars hit the streets in the late ’60s, many paid attention and AMC received a significant bump in sales. Encouraged by the success of Javelin and AMX, AMC management wanted to go further and attack the sports car market. They had the funds to do so but didn’t have a starting point. Soon, AMC hired renewed ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini. They asked him to build them a modern sports car with a rear engine, transaxle, and sleek body (via Hagerty).
Bizzarrini did what he was asked to do and even more. The AMX/3 prototype had world-class handling, sexy Italian styling, and could hit 170 mph. AMC’s 390 V8 engine provided the power with 340 HP. Despite the promising start, AMC realized that the finished product would cost around $12,000. This was significantly more than the similarly designed De Tomaso Pantera and almost double the price of the Corvette. Unfortunately but understandably they decided to kill the fantastic AMX/3 after only six preproduction cars were built in 1970.