Hooniverse Obscure Muscle Car Garage – The 1974 AMC Matador Coupe 401

Welcome to the Hooniverse Obscure Muscle Car Garage, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to showcase those cars that you may have forgotten about. It was late in 1973, and the Detroit automakers were celebrating because of a record production year. However, there were ominous clouds gathering, with pending emission regulations, newly enacted crash and safety standards, and federally mandated bumper regulations. Engine output was being choked with air pumps, and a myriad of vacuum hoses, to try and clean up tailpipe emissions, so the performance market was lagging. During this dark period, a distinctly designed two door coupe was let loose on the market, from the smallest of the Detroit automakers. Let’s take a look at the 1974 Matador Coupe (with the 401 V-8).

AMC Introduced that Matador nameplate during the 1971 model year, to replace the venerable Rebel series. It was a dependable, if somewhat boring lineup of cars including Sedan, Station Wagon, and 2 Door Hardtop models. The sedans and wagons seem to be selling well (even landing a large Police Car Fleet like the Los Angeles PD), but they never seemed to capture the youth market like the other mid-sized offerings from Chrysler, Ford, or GM. In 1972 and 73, AMC even fielded a NASCAR entry (piloted by none other than Mark Donohue) to try and breathe new life into a not so exciting car. That was all about to change.

It was decided to come up with an all new coupe model, and leave the current sedan and wagon models as they were. The task of redesigning the Matador was under the masterful care of Richard Teague, then VP of Styling for AMC. The decision to allow this Matador to be just a coupe allowed the designers the freedom to produce a car without having to make compromises for other models. Introduced in the fall of 1973, the Matador Coupe looked like no other AMC car before. A long hood, fastback rear deck, fixed “B” pillars, an aggressive pointed snout, and free floating bumpers gave it a look that no one could forget. It’s most distinctive characteristic was probably the “tunneled” headlamps.

There were three distinct models within the Matador lineup, including base, the luxurious Brougham, and the Matador “X”. AMC was ahead of it’s time in naming the sportiest AMC models “X”, way before Xtream sports were all the rage. Under the hood were a slew of engine choices, including two six cylinder engines, a 304 V8, two different 360 v8′s, and the big 401 Cu In V8, belting out 235 HP, and over 335 Lb Ft of torque, unfortunately, only through an automatic transmission.

Car Magazines of the day seemed to love this big. bold AMC. Car and Driver Magazine pronounced it as “1974′s Best Styled Car.” They went on to say that “There’s an undeniable air of smugness stamped into the fenders of this new Matador X.” Road & Track felt that the Matador was “Sleek and fast, but oversize and thirsty.” Super Stock magazine even took a 401 equipped Matador X to the quarter mile, and the best run was 15.38 at a little under 95 MPH. Remember, this was a heavy car (weighing close to 5,000 pounds), equipped with a version of Chrysler’s excellent TorqueFlite automatic, and Air Conditioning, and was still able to post these numbers.

Production of the 1974 Matador Coupe totaled a little over 62,000, compared with the previous year of only 7,000. But like most AMC models introduced during the 70′s, sales start off very strong, but trail off steeply after that, and the Matador was no exception, with sales falling to 22,300 for 1975, and falling off to 6,800, and finally a little over 2,000 for the 1978 model year. The big 401 wasn’t offered after 1974, so this is the only year that this car was a true Muscle Car.

Now, is this piece of AMC History an Obscure Muscle Car, and does it deserve a place on the Garage? Or is it just another 70′s boulevard cruiser, with wonky looks, and weight to match. As always I look forward to your lively debates on this series, so keep them coming.

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Please Note: All Images are screen grabs from around the web. If you want credit for any image, please let me know in the comments section. Thank You!