Missing AMC electric concept car from 1967 few have heard of was randomly discovered in the rafters of a barn in Michigan
- The 1967 AMC Amitron is an electric concept car
- You’ve probably never heard of it
- It’s just been discovered in a Michigan barn find
Published on Jan 08, 2025 at 4:05 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jan 09, 2025 at 6:01 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The 1967 AMC Amitron is the electric and economical concept car you’ve probably never heard of – but it’s just been discovered in a Michigan barn find and you don’t want to miss it.
Hidden away amid discarded furniture and garden items sits the subcompact electric vehicle.
The owner of the barn explains that his grandfather was an AMC design director and bought it from the carmaker for a ‘whopping dollar’ – however much that is.
Sadly it never made it to production.
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The incredible barn find
We are often spoilt by self-titled ‘automotive archaeologist’, Ryan Brutt, bringing us diamonds he’s uncovered in the rough via his YouTube channel.
However, this piece of automotive history was discovered in a remarkably neat and tidy barn find.
Justin Mashigan is the grandson of the once head of the AMC design studio, Chuck.
It seems that Grandpa often bought the most interesting parts of his work home and saved them for posterity.
In fact, the AMC Amitron electric concept car was discovered sitting in the rafters above a Jeep CJ5 that was used in American Motors Corporation’s design studio for creating stripe kits.
The AMC electric concept car
AMC design director, Chuck, saved the Amatron EV from destruction by purchasing it for a ‘whopping’ $1.
No doubt aware of its significance in automotive history, he preserved it in an enclosure on his back porch until his passing.
It is now stored in the surprising location of the rafters of his grandson’s barn.
Storytime: the AMC Amatron was an electric commuter car developed by the brand in collaboration with Goulon Industries in the late 1960s.
It was a surprising and forward-thinking response to rising gas prices – and is one of the crazier-looking concept cars.
It was recycled as a show car by AMC in the late 1970s and last displayed publicly at the 1977 Chicago Auto Show.
The car retains its original paint, emblems, and bespoke tires – which are not golf cart tires as initially thought.
Sadly the futuristic-looking car was ahead of its time – like this strange six-wheeled 70s supercar that could do 200mph – and so never made it to production.
What’s more, he even has the press photos, behind-the-scenes documentation from AMC’s styling studios, and a scaled-down concept model that was used to build the full-size version of it.
Justin plans to honor his grandfather’s legacy by cleaning it up and potentially displaying it at automotive shows, including the Petersen Museum for a short-term exhibition.
It might just be worth a lot of money – like this one-off Lamborghini concept car that has a staggering $117 million price tag.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
