This find would normally fall under our eBay Find of the Day features, but we’re not 100% sure of its status at the moment. Yes, we found it on eBay, but the auction is over — the only twist being that the reserve wasn’t met, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it showed back up soon. Regardless, this car is too cool to let it slip by without mentioning it.
The car we’re talking about is a very rare, very special one-of-one 1981 American Motors Corporation AMX Turbo PPG Indy Car/World Series Pace Car. It only has 4,069 original miles on the clock, so as far as we’re concerned, it’s barely broken in!
Making its debut as the official Pace Car for the Milwaukee 150 on June 17th, 1981, this AMX Turbo is a part of automotive (especially AMC) history. This exclusive one-of-a-kind AMX made its rounds through the United States in 1981 as one of the five official Pace Cars for the 14 race series.
All five of the cars in the group were funded by PPG Industries to help create one Pace Car for each of the top American car companies. This particular car was built exclusively for AMC, and was personally owned by AMC VP of Design, Richard Teague, so it’s definitely a legend around the AMC crowd.
This car started life as a Spirit base model, then the body was replaced by a fiberglass shell. The build, handled by Autodynamics out of Troy, Michigan, included a unique ram air induction that was fed from the 1/4 panel, and an integrated rear spoiler. Its interior was made over to include new bucket seats, and a roll bar and cage.
Now for the main attraction, what got upgraded under the hood… The 258 cubic inch 6-cylinder was transformed into a total beast. Richard Teague used an exhaust driven turbocharger by Turbo System, and a Porsche fuel injection system to bring the car up to 450 horsepower. So basically, this super lightweight car is going to feel like a go-kart from hell, and you’ll love every second of it! You can check out the original ad here, heck, it might even turn back up for sale soon!
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
