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AMC’s vision for the future includes a Turbo 4×4 engine with turbine wheels


Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

One of the greatest tragedies in automotive history was the loss of American Automobile Corporation. Even though it has spent years making money, it still has great ideas for what the future will look like. Among the futuristic ideas was the 1977 AMC AM Van, a vehicle with incredible visibility, turbocharged engine and four-wheel drive.

Discovered folks at Silodrome, AM The only surviving valve is for sale, but there’s a small perk: you have to finish building it since it’s just a rolling shell.

Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Picture: AMC

By 1977, American Motors was burning through millions of dollars, and its reputation as an innovator was sinking. Jeeps flew a lot and AM General couldn’t build enough buses, but cars like the Pacer didn’t… keep up with expectations. The company’s problems spread across the automotive media and even The New York Times. In an effort to show the press and the public that they still have some tricks left, Hemmings reportAMC has decided to include several futuristic concepts in a program in seven cities across the United States.

These Concept 80 events are invite-only and AMC will warn of a near future where cars must be small to cope with power shortages. The Concept 80 was meant to represent what AMC thought the 1980s would look like, and it brought a variety of concepts from the Concept Electron EV to the tiny Concept Jeep II. The more casual cars in the group are the Concept I, Concept II and Concept III, all of which resemble existing AMC products with some updates.

However, a red pickup truck stole the show with its bright red paintwork, turbine wheels, and suggested spec sheet.

Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

The AM Van 1977 concept was written by Richard Teague, the man responsible for greats like Ambassador, AMX, Javelin, Jeep Cherokee and more. It has a striking greenhouse, a stout nose, fat tires, and luscious side pipes. Multiple versions have been suggested with either one with giant windows like you see here or one with windows and convertible-car-like graphics of the era. There is a small Pacer in the front and some Gremlin in the back.

Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

For now, remember that AMC’s vision of the future is small cars. So while this is a truck, rear access is difficult. Only the front door and barn door were in the back, forcing rear passengers to pass through the front.

Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Power will be transmitted to all four wheels through a turbocharged engine. This must have been a novel layout for the times, but unfortunately, AMC didn’t put any Concept 80 concepts into production. We don’t even know the engine and powertrain that AM Van will have as AMC has never moved beyond the concept stage.

The AM Valve you see here is a fiberglass body and some interior on top of a wooden frame.

Image for article titled AMC & # 39;  s Vision for the Future includes a Turbo 4x4 engine with turbine wheels

Photo: RM Sotheby’s

Vans have their limitations, but when AMC polled show attendees, 31 percent supported AM Van, beating second place with seven percent. And while AMC didn’t put this truck into production, some of its ideas did. Four-wheelers have become a marketing point for AMC, and the truck predated the American minivan craze.

This AM Van has spent over 35 years of its life in the Joe Bortz collection, where it is on loan at various museums. It has spent more than 25 years with Kenosha County Historical Association alone. This isn’t the first time it’s been sold, as it’s already on eBay in 2017 for $72,000. If you feel like completing what AMC hasn’t done yet, you can bid on RM Sotheby’s Sand Lots auction runs from May 25 to June 1.



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