Welcome

Welcome to HTBomb's Magical Hot Wheels. I played with Mattel Hot Wheels when I was a kid and began collecting them as an adult in 1996 shortly after leaving a 79 cent limited edition Treasure Hunt Passion on the pegs at KMart. That car is now worth $100! Several months later I found and bought three Treasure Hunts at Target. I was hooked.

I am interested in buying childhood collections of toy cars: Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Corgi, Husky, Dinky and Topper Johnny Lightning; Slot cars from Cox, Aurora and Tyco AF/X; Plastic model kits from AMT, Monogram, MPC. Please contact me via my website link below.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

I'd like to see a Hot Wheels AMX/3

I have Custom AMX and AMX/2 redlines and would like an AMX/3 to park next to them.  The AMX/3 Show Car was an exotic, mid-engined successor to the AMX, known as the AMX/3, came fairly close to regular production in 1970. Seven prototypes were made, styled and engineered by AMC with bodies hand-built in Turin, Italy. In mid-1970, the AMX/3 was first unveiled to the Roman press. The reception was enthusiastic. Unfortunately, financial problems at AMC, along with stricter safety and emissions requirements, caused them to abandon the project. In total, six examples of the AMX supercar were constructed.


 














A little AMX history.












The Custom AMX redline (above) was released in 1969 by Mattel based on American Motor's 1968 production AMX.  It is relatively stock in appearance except for the custom hood bulges.  With the Muscle Car wars raging between the Big Three auto makers, AMC, America's last independent car company, was in financial trouble. Their Javelin was sporty looking but couldn't compete with Mustangs and Camaros in the performance department.  They needed an image changer, a statement maker.  The AMX created excitement. Here at last was a two-place sports coupe American Motors could be proud to show off, and that's exactly what they did.  It's styling was essentially that of a truncated Javelin but it looked muscular and very successful.



















Designed by in-house stylists Bob Nixon and Fred Hudson, the non-working AMX/2 show car featured a "twin" theme, including dual movable spoilers, and was intended to have a mid-mounted engine. Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in early 1969.

 
   











AMX/2 Hot Wheels (above) released in 1971.  The twin engine covers are plastic and hinged so that they can be opened to reveal the engine.

In 1971 the AMX became a badge-change Javelin with performance features added.  Mattel recently released a rather nice version of this car but that's topic for another time.

AMX Photo Archive: From Concept to Reality 

If you're an AMX fan you'll want to check out this fine book (click on the photo to buy).



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