AMC Hornet 360
The early ’70s marked the beginning of the end for muscle cars with downsizing, tightening emissions, and safety standards. The AMC was one of the first companies to realize that a new breed of muscle cars was needed to keep power-hungry customers happy. So in 1971, they introduced the Hornet 360 (via Hemmings).
Based on a regular economy car called Hornet, it was equipped with better suspension, sharper steering, and a 360 V8. This hot Hornet turned from an ordinary compact into a proper muscle car. The power wasn’t big at 245 HP. But those horses could make the Hornet fly in a lightweight body. The rest of the muscle cars offerings in 1971 all had problems with big size and weight as well as engines that didn’t make power anymore. But the Hornet 360 was one of the fastest cars on sale. Unfortunately, buyers needed to understand the forward-thinking of AMC and less than 800 Hornets were sold in 1971, making them very rare and obscure muscle cars.