American · 1978–1983

AMC Spirit

The AMC Spirit is a subcompact car sold by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1979 through 1983. Replacing the AMC Gremlin, the Spirit was available in two different body styles, both were two-door hatchbacks – but neither was marketed as such. Instead, AMC offered a restyled Gremlin either as a "Spirit Kammback" or "sedan", while an additional model with a more gently sloping rear was introduced as the "Spirit Liftback" or "coupe". Due to budget constraints, the Spirit shared the Gremlin's platform – its floorpan, powertrains, and many other parts were carried over. AMC also offered a four-wheel drive cross-over version using the Spirit's bodywork, marketed from 1981 through 1983 model years as the AMC Eagle SX/4 and Eagle Kammback (1981–1982 only). Spirits were manufactured by AMC in Wisconsin and Ontario, as well as under license by Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) in Mexico, where they retained the Gremlin name on the restyled models. Performance versions of the AMC Spirit competed in road racing. In 1979, B.F. Goodrich sponsored a two-car team of Spirit AMXs in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The AMXs were the first American team entries with a pair of hastily homologated cars. They finished first and second in their class out of a 120-car total field and were the only racers running street tires. Spirits were also privately campaigned in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Champion Spark Plug Challenge and Racing Stock Class events, as well as in drag racing.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: AMC Gremlin · Successor: Peugeot 305

All American AMC Spirit data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Background

The AMC Spirit was largely a restyled Gremlin, which had been manufactured from 1970 through 1978. Engineering and equipment upgrades introduced on the 1978 Concord carried over to the subcompact Spirit. The suspension system was revised with "soft-ride" mountings for the coil springs over A-arms in the front and the rear live-axle with leaf springs to improve ride and handling. Features included enhanced sound-deadening and corrosion protection as well as lightweight aluminum bumpers, lock-up automatic transmission converter, and higher-compression six-cylinder camshaft and pistons for economy, performance, and emissions. The body received new styling and a liftback model was added to the previous two-door sedan. Dick Teague's "more-conventional" design of the new liftback coupe "had a particularly graceful superstructure for such a short car". A road test by Popular Science described the transition as AMC having the "cleverest engineers in Detroit" cementing their reputation of "getting $200 worth of looks for $100".

Annual changes

=== 1979 === As a restyled variant of the previous Gremlin, the Spirit featured distinctly larger rear quarter windows while retaining the instrument panel introduced on the 1978 Gremlin, with a wood grain overlay on DL and Limited models. Riding on the same wheelbase as the sedan, the liftback was identical to the sedan from the doors forward and featured a sloping roof (compromising rear headroom) and a hatchback with a more shallow Kammback tail. The rear license plate hid the fuel filler cap. The Spirit offered a generous cruising range with its "fuel tank capacity of 21 gallons and probable fuel mileage of 25 mpg or more ... enabling the car's driver to travel over 500 miles between fill ups". Standard equipment levels and convenience features were increased on the new Spirit compared to the Gremlin. For example, the DL models featured upgraded trim inside and out, including color-keyed wheel covers, custom bucket seats in corduroy fabric or "sport" vinyl upholstery, wood accents on the dashboard, steering wheel, and floor gearshift knob, and fluorescent-display digital clock. The top trim Limited model included leather seats and trim, air conditioning, AM/FM radio, an adjustable steering wheel, dual remote outside mirrors, a full-length center console with armrest, and many more features. The GT package was available on the Spirit liftback and included among other features, blacked-out exterior trim, radial tires with styled wheels, black leather-wrapped sport steering wheel and console, tachometer, and "Rallye" gauges, as well as a special "deep-tone" exhaust system. The package also had a rear spoiler, and other sporty features that offered AMC to have a competitor in design, style, price, size, and performance to the new-for-1979 Fox-based Ford Mustang. A sep

Production Figures

== Spirit AMX == An AMX version of the Spirit liftback was offered for 1979 and 1980 as a way of invoking the memory of the original two-seat 1968 through 1970 AMX. Spirit AMX model featured special body color-matched fender flares and front air dam, "Rally-Tuned" suspension with 1.06 in (27 mm) front and 0.75 in (19 mm) rear sway bars, high-effort power steering gears, front and rear three-way adjustable "Strider" Gabriel (brand name) shock absorbers, heavy-duty semi-metallic 10.8 in (274 mm) front disk brakes with ribbed 10x1.2-inch (254x30.5 mm) rear drum brakes, unique AMX grille, "Turbocast II" 14x7-inch aluminum road wheels with ER60x14 Goodyear "Flexten" GT radial RWL (raised white letter) tires, rear spoiler, special striping package, hood and door decals, console shifted automatic or manual transmission with "Rallye Gauge" package (total of eight dials including an intake-manifold vacuum gauge), as well as simulated aluminum dash overlays with AMX badge on the glove compartment door. Changes in the standard AMX equipment for 1980 were exclusively flat-finished black flares and air dam, standard 14x6-inch "Magnum 500" styled road wheels with the wider aluminum wheels now made optional, and deletion of the simulated aluminum dash overlays. Although the car "wasn't actually fast, it sure looked the part" with an "aggressive appearance." The quick-ratio power steering, large-diameter front and rear sway bars, as well as racing-tuned shock absorbers, provided excellent handling." The biggest powerplant on the 1979 AMX was AMC's 304 cu in (5.0 L) V8 and it was the last AMC passenger car to have a factory-installed V8 engine. With the required emission devices and lowered compression ratios, the car felt adequately powered and could still deliver highway fuel economy

Performance

Exploiting the ease and low cost of modifying an AMC Gremlin for higher performance, as well as their inherent strength, Spirits were used in drag racing. According to Hot Rod magazine, "these little cars are very cool, and while they're not traditional muscle cars, they're plenty strong in terms of performance." Using mostly AMC hardware, the AMC Spirit could perform exceptionally well as a street car and in multiple racing arenas (including quarter-mile e.t. of 12.8 at 110 mph (180 km/h)), with the finished vehicle costing only about $10,000. Some owners of Spirits have been converted with the 360 cu in (5.9 L) AMC V8 engines and run the quarter-mile drag strip on an 11.88 dial. AMC Spirits in the Factory Street class have run e.t. of 10.62 at 126.27 mph. Some owners of Spirits have also heavily modified their cars for pro-class drag racing using AMC engines. Other engines have also been substituted.

Stirling experimental engines

The AMC Spirit served as a test vehicle for alternative engine and fuel experiments. The Stirling engine was considered theoretically to be the most efficient of the alternative heat engines under development during the late 1970s. The Automotive Stirling Engine (ASE) Program consisted of one large engine development contract and a small technology effort. This included a MOD 1 Stirling powered 1979 AMC Spirit engineering test vehicle built by Mechanical Technology to develop and demonstrate practical alternatives. In partnership with the United States Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and built under contract by AMC's AM General wholly owned subsidiary, the United Stirling AB's "P-40" powered Spirit was tested extensively for over 50,000 miles (80,467 km) and achieved average fuel efficiency up to 28.5 mpg‑US (8 L/100 km; 34 mpg‑imp). The Spirit could use gasoline, diesel, or common ethanol fuel mixtures. A 1981 AMC Spirit powered by a 53-kW Stirling engine was also evaluated for performance, emissions, fuel economy, and cooling-system adequacy, but originally assembled as a transient test bed for the engine, the 3,250 lb (1,474 kg) vehicle lacked sufficient performance. The Stirling engines used early in the program delivered an acceleration time of 36 seconds, while the early upgraded Mod I engine installed in an AMC Spirit took 26 seconds. The cars were tested by General Motors Research Laboratories (CMRL) in April 1984, to provide an independent evaluation. The tests demonstrated that the type of engine "could be developed into an automotive power train for passenger vehicles and that it could produce favorable results." However, progress was achieved with equal-power spark-ignition engines since 1977, and the Corpora

VAM models

Mexican government-owned automaker Vehiculos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) assembled sedan and liftback Spirits under license with AMC from 1979 (sedan) and 1980 (liftback) through 1983. To meet government regulations, VAM vehicles had to have at least 60% locally sourced parts. Mexican-built "AMCs" came with different exterior and interior trim, as well as model names than their counterparts in the United States and Canada. For example, the Spirit 2-door sedan was called "Gremlin". The Spirit liftback models were called "Rally". This meant that the two Spirit body styles in Mexico were two separate lines within VAM's product mix with the sedan targeted at the economy market segment while the liftback was almost exclusively focused towards performance. The Rally-based Spirit was the successor to VAM's American Rally AMX top-of-the-line performance model that was based on the 1978 U.S. domestic market AMC Concord AMX while the Gremlin-based Spirit can be described as a generation change within an already existing model. All VAM engines were of AMC design, but built at the Lerma, Estado de México engine assembly plant. They featured modifications to deal with low octane fuel and high altitudes. These included different head designs and exhaust porting. An indigenous VAM engine was the 282 cu in (4.6 L) version of the AMC Straight-6 engine with an enlarged bore and wider dished pistons (3.909 in (99 mm) bore, 3.894 in (99 mm) stroke) as well as a unique head and exhaust porting design. The V8 and four cylinder engines were not available in Mexico. Sedan. The VAM-based Spirit sedan was available in the same model configuration as the AMC Gremlin in the first half of the 1970s, including the equivalent sporty model still called the Gremlin X, which in Mexico was a higher trim

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: AMC Spirit
aka: VAM Gremlin (Mexico, sedan) , VAM Rally (Mexico, liftback)
Manufacturer: American Motors Corporation (AMC)
Production: 1978–1983
Model years: 1979–1983
Assembly: United States: Kenosha, Wisconsin (Kenosha Assembly), Canada: Brampton, Ontario (Brampton Assembly), Mexico: Mexico City (VAM )
Class: Subcompact
Predecessor: AMC Gremlin
Successor: Renault Alliance/Encore, Renault Fuego (Spirit AMX)
Engine: 2.0 L VW EA827 I4, 2.5 L GM Iron Duke I4, 3.8 L AMC 232 I6, 4.2 L AMC 258 I6, 4.6 L AMC 282 I6 (Mexico), 5.0 L AMC 304 V8
Transmission: 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic , 4-speed manual , 5-speed manual
Layout: FR layout
Related: AMC Hornet, AMC Gremlin, AMC Concord, AMC Eagle
Body style: 2-door sedan, 3-door liftback
Wheelbase: 96 in
Length: 167 in
Width: 72 in
Height: 51 in
Kerb weight: 2521 lb base sedan
Platform: AMC's "junior cars"
Designer: Dick Teague

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q294717CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_SpiritCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1374728459 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1979_AMC_Spirit_GT_V8_Russet_FR.jpgPublic domain · Photo: CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz, releases all rights but a photo credit would be appreciated if this image is used anywhere other than Wikipedia. Please leave a note at Wikipedia here. Thank you! · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.