Long forgotten car almost became America’s first supercar

After the launch of the Lamborghini Miura mid-engined supercar revolution, American carmakers rushed to build one for themselves — and one of these cars almost became America’s first supercar.

The American Big Three – Ford, Chevy, and GM – scrambled to try their hands at a mid-engined supercar.

Ford came up with the GT40 and De Tomaso Pantera, while Chevy tried their hand at the Astro XP-880 Concept.

AMC, a smaller brand among the major American car companies, also developed a prototype supercar, but it never went into production.

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America’s first supercar

The AMC AMX III was a mid-engine sports car produced by the American carmaker American Motors Corporation.

Only six of these cars were ever made making them one of the rarest American cars in the world.

This forgotten supercar looked quite similar to the Ford De Tomaso Pantera.

Many companies also contributed to the design of this American supercar; even BMW was involved in the chassis development.

Bizzarrini and Italdesign were also involved in the development of the car.

Unfortunately, AMC abandoned the AMX III without giving any reason whatsoever.

1969 AMC AMX III

In 1969, AMC invested $2 million into developing America’s first supercar.

In the end, only six cars and three replicas were also made based on the original chassis.

The car also featured a 6.4L naturally aspirated V8 engine that produced 340HP and 430lb-ft of torque.

It had a top speed of 170mph and could reach 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds.

However, it is not the only American supercar lost in the pages of automotive history.

The Avtech WX-3 was another American supercar that Europe’s finest car brands with its futuristic design.

In the present day, these kinds of American supercars are extremely rare, with the AMC AMX III being one the rarest.

The last time we saw one was at an auction in 2017.