Buy the Original Crossover: The AMC SX/4

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Jonathon Klein 

                               

 

Before Audi’s Quattro, and Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, AMC was king of the all-wheel drive here in the good ole U.S. of A. The company was actually the only American manufacturer to produce all-wheel drive passenger cars during the early eighties. Chief among them was the AMC Eagle lineup.

AMC’s Eagle was what you could call, the first crossover. It used an AMC Concord car chassis, but combined it with a higher ride height and semi capable off-road AWD system.

 The Eagle came in a coupe, sedan, and a station wagon body, and offered the public something truly novel for the time. However, it was when the company took that same AWD system and shoved it into the compact AMC Spirit based models that the fun truly began.

What you see before you is an AMC SX/4. It’s a compact coupe that looks quite a bit like the Japanese sportscars coming out in the same time period. It took inspiration from things like the Datsun 240Z and the Mazda RX-7. However, as you can see, this is no ordinary sports car. It’s raised height, and bigger tires belie a car that was ahead of its time. And this one could now be yours.

Currently, this blast from the past is on eBay and the current bid is only up to around $3,000 making it a screaming deal. This specific car is a 1983 AMC Eagle SX/4 Sport. It has a 4.2-liter inline-six cylinder engine, a 998 torque flight transmission that has just been rebuilt, and 138,500 original miles. The seller also states that it has a new battery, water pump, thermostat, valve cover, and new Weber carbs. The car also came from the factory with a sunroof and a skid plate for all your off-roading needs.

 

 

While the AMC SX/4 is a bit outside the range of what most car collectors look for, this one is definitely worth a look. It would just be fun to have so you can play in the mud, snow, or desert blasting around the dunes. It’s the perfect beater car, and one that’s totally unique in the process. This will definitely give you added points for being wholly obscure at your local car meets. You know you want one, heck, we want one now.