AMC Hornet

AMC
	AMC Hornet SST (1970)
Hornet
Production period:	1969-1977
Class :	Lower middle class
Body versions :	Sedan , station wagon , station wagon coupe
Engines:	; Petrol engines : 3.3-5.9 liters ; (65-180 kW)
Length:	4554-4725 mm
Width:	1793-1805 mm
Height:	1310-1325 mm
Wheelbase :	2745 mm
Empty weight :	1350-1555 kg
Previous model	Rambler American
successor	AMC Concord

The AMC Hornet was a vehicle of the lower middle class , which the American Motors Corporation (AMC) produced from summer 1969 to autumn 1977th

The Hornet replaced the Rambler American . With the start of its production, the Rambler brand name was discontinued in the US and Canadian markets. The new Hornet played an important role for the AMC. It and its successors were built up to model year 1988. The model survived the compact cars of other American manufacturers, the Chevrolet Nova , the Ford Maverick and the Plymouth Valiant . The car was the basis for the compact AMC Gremlin with a greatly shortened hatchback and a glass tailgate. The hardly changed successor was called AMC Concord , whose short version was the Spirit . With parts of the jeep floor pan and all-wheel drive, there was the AMC Eagle .

Origin of the name

The Hudson Motor Car Co. named one of their models Hornet in 1951 . The company formed a touring car team around this type of car, and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet soon became known for its victories in touring car races from 1951 to 1954. The American Motors Corporation was formed from the merger of Hudson and Nash Motors in 1954. From 1955 to 1957 she built vehicles based on the Nash models under the name Hornet. No Hornets were made from 1958 to 1969, but AMC retained the naming rights.

The styling of the AMC Hornet was based on the prototype AMC Cavalier . In the year of its introduction it was available as a two- or four-door sedan. In 1971 a five-door station wagon, the Sportabout , was added to the model range. In the same year the SC / 360 was added, a V8 muscle car that was only available as a two-door coupé.

A station wagon coupe was offered from 1973.

The Hornet was one of the first passenger cars to be offered with an equipment package designed by a fashion designer.

The model presented in 1972 was called Gucci and was named after the American fashion designer Aldo Gucci . The car was offered in four exterior colors with a beige interior and thin red and green stripes as well as special model plates. Almost 3,000 copies of the 1972 Hornet were sold with this equipment. This success stimulated other automobile manufacturers - such as the Ford luxury brand Lincoln - to offer equipment packages that were also created by fashion designers.

In 1973, a Levi's Jeans equipment package was offered, which was named after the jeans manufacturer Levi's . It was very popular and was offered until the mid-1970s.

technology

The following data relate to the 1973 model year, but apply mutatis mutandis to the entire series and related models. The AMC Hornet had four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive installed lengthways at the front .

Engines

The eight-cylinder V-engine had a displacement of 4979 cc (304 cui ) and consisted of an engine block made of cast iron, he had a central camshaft, a five bearing crankshaft and hanging valves, the compression ratio was 8.4: 1. rendered Thus, the Motor 152 HP (net; 111.8 kW) at 4200 revolutions per minute. He was with a downdraft -Doppelvergaser Autolite 2bbl Model 2100 (Europe Motorcraft populated). The cooling water content was 13.2 liters, the gasoline tank held 62 liters (21 US gallons).

Power transmission

The rear axle with a reduction ratio of 2.87: 1 (3.15: 1 on request) was driven by an automatic transmission with a torque converter of the "Torque Command" type. It was identical to the Chrysler Torqueflite and was also used in the Jeep models. The converter could increase the torque a maximum of two times. The selector lever was on the steering wheel or optionally on the center console.

body

The body was designed to be self-supporting . Two and four-door sedans were available, from 1971 the Wagon Sportabout station and from 1973 a hatchback coupé with a tailgate.

Chassis and suspension

The front wheels were individually suspended from double wishbones of unequal length (with elastically mounted tension struts), with coil springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers . At the front there was a stabilizer , which was steered either with roller steering or recirculating ball steering with servo .

The rear rigid axle was conventionally suspended on semi-elliptical springs with telescopic shock absorbers.

The dual-circuit braking system was hydraulic. Self-adjusting drum brakes were built in all around as standard ; Front disc brakes and brake boosters were available as options. The parking brake acted on the rear brakes via a pedal in the footwell. The tire sizes were 6.95-14, on request C78-14 (both on 5 inch wide rims) or D70-14 and DR70-14 then on 6 inch wide rims.

Facelift

Model year 1970

The first Hornet appeared in September 1969 in basic equipment and as a better equipped SST model with two or four doors. The 3.3-liter in-line six-cylinder engine was available in the basic model, while the 3.8-liter engine powered the SST. A 5.0-liter V8 was available as an option for both models.

In 1970:

43,610 pieces of the two-door basic model
17,948 pieces of the four-door basic model
19,748 pieces of the two-door SST model
19,786 pieces of the four-door SST model

Model year 1971

AMC Hornet SC360 (1971)

In 1971 the Sportabout was added, a five-door station wagon that had a tailgate that swings up instead of the usual rear door that opens to the side. The two- and four-door sedans were manufactured unchanged. The 3.8 liter machine became the basic equipment for all models.

The SC / 360 was a limited edition two-door muscle car with a 5.9-liter V8 (248 hp / 182 kW), stylish wheels, an air scoop on the bonnet, side stripes and other equipment details. It was intended to be the successor to the 1969 SC / Rambler , but it did not sell well, so only 784 copies were made.

The production figures of the Sportabout speak for themselves, because most of the time it was the only US station wagon in this size class.

The production numbers from 1971 were:

19,235 pieces of the two-door basic model
10,403 pieces of the four-door basic model
8,600 pieces of the two-door SST model
10,651 pieces of the four-door SST model
73,471 pieces of the five-door SST model Sportabout
784 pieces of the two-door SC / 360

Model year 1972

AMC Hornet Sportabout (1972)

The basic model of the Hornet series expired in 1972 and from then on all vehicles were called SST . The SST offered more features than the basic model from the previous year for the same price. There was also the X package, a rally equipment. Gucci designed a special version of the Sportabout station wagon.

In 1972:

27,122 pieces of the two-door SST model
24,254 pieces of the four-door SST model
34,065 pieces of the five-door SST model Sportabout, 2,584 of them with Gucci equipment

Model year 1973

AMC Hornet Coupe (1973)

In 1973 the SST model was discontinued and all models were only called "Hornet". The front of the vehicle has been redesigned to match the new, impact-absorbing, self-repairing bumper. This should meet the requirement “no damage below 8 km / h”. The total length grew by 195 mm.

A two-door station wagon coupé was introduced, which Car and Driver magazine called the "1973 styling coup". A foldable rear bench seat increased the loading volume from 269 to 651 liters with an almost flat loading floor. The dealers offered a conversion kit that could be used to convert the cargo space into a camper. The sedan continued to be built unchanged, while a D / L package was available on request for the station wagon . It consisted of wood decor on the sides of the vehicle, a roof rail with a rear wind deflector, individually foldable rear seat backrests and plush upholstery on the seats. The Gucci station wagon was also available again this year, and the station wagon coupé was available in Levi's equipment. The X package was now also available for the Sportabout and the Kombicoupé.

In 1973:

23,187 pieces of the two-door model
25,452 pieces of the four-door model
44,719 pieces of the five-door model Sportabout, 2,251 of which are Gucci
40,110 of the three-door station wagon coupé

Model year 1974

All four versions of the Hornet continued to be built almost unchanged in 1974, only small equipment details were changed. The front bumper no longer had a continuous rubber lip, but instead had two rubber-coated bumper horns. There was a larger rear bumper that also met the new legal requirements (no damage below 8 km / h impact speed). The rear license plate moved up between the taillights.

In 1974:

29,950 pieces of the two-door model
29,754 pieces of the four-door model
71,413 pieces of the five-door model Sportabout
55,158 of the three-door station wagon coupé

Model year 1975

AMC Hornet Sedan (1975)

Since AMC focused on the Pacer introduced in March 1975 , there were almost no changes to the Hornet. The biggest change was a new grille with horizontal bars.

In 1975:

12,392 pieces of the two-door model
20,565 pieces of the four-door model
39,593 pieces of the five-door model Sportabout
13,441 of the three-door station wagon coupe

Model year 1976

AMC Hornet Sportabout (1976)

In the sixth year without any major changes, AMC charged the same price for sedan and station wagon coupé, while the Sportabout cost a little more. The Hornet grew up this year new competition from the Dodge Aspen and the Plymouth Volare .

A total of 71,577 Hornets were built in 1976.

Model year 1977

After more than seven years of construction, the Hornet's design seemed outdated. The new sporty model, the AMX (not to be confused with the AMC AMX ) was only available as a station wagon coupé. It should be reminiscent of the name of the AMC AMX racing car. The rest of the Hornet series remained unchanged.

In 1977:

6,076 pieces of the two-door model
31,331 pieces of the four-door model
28,891 pieces of the five-door model Sportabout
11,545 of the three-door station wagon coupé

In the autumn of 1977 the Hornet was revised and renamed Concord in 1978 . He helped establish the new “luxury compact car” market segment. With a modified design, new components and more basic equipment, the Concord was intended for a different target group than the Hornet, which was trimmed for economy. It was more comfortable and sold more often.

Use in film

A Hornet X estate coupe is used in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

Dodge Hornet for 2008

In 2006, a study called the Dodge Hornet was published, which was originally supposed to go into production in 2008. The project was delayed and finally culminated in 2013 in the Dodge Dart on the D-Evo platform, which is also used for the Fiat Viaggio and Chrysler 200.

Web links

Commons : AMC Hornet - collection of images, videos and audio files

amchornet.com (English)
Information about the AMC Hornet from 1972 (English) ( Memento from February 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

swell

John A. Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Motors, 1902-1987 ; Krause Publications Iola WI, 1st edition, 1993; ISBN 0-87341-232-X .
John A. Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars 1960-1972. Krause Publications, Iola WI, 2006; ISBN 978-0-89689-433-4 .
John A. Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars 1973-2006. Krause Publications, Iola WI, 2007; ISBN 978-0-89689-490-7 .
John A. Gunnell (Ed.): Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications, Iola WI, 4th revised edition, 2002; ISBN 0-87349-461-X .
James M. Flammang & Ron Kowalke (Eds.): Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976–1999 . Krause Publications, Iola (WI) 1999. ISBN 0-87341-755-0
Charles K. Hyde: Storied Independent Automakers: Nash, Hudson, and American Motors. Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Great Lakes Books Series, 2009; ISBN 978-0-8143-3446-1 .
Larry G. Mitchell: Illustrated AMC Buyer's Guide , Motorbooks International (1994); ISBN 0-87938-891-9 .
Automobil Revue editorial office: Automobil Revue catalog 1973. Hallwag Verlag AG, Bern; no ISBN.