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AMC Gremlin With Dodge Challenger Hellcat Face Is a Mashup That Actually Works

Introduced in 1970 as AMC's take on the subcompact segment, the Gremlin went into the history books as one of the weirder designs of the 1970s. And while most early 1970s American cars are remembered more often for their power, the Gremlin made a name for itself through styling.
AMC Gremlin with Challenger Hellcat face rendering 8 photos
Photo: jlord8/Instagram
AMC Gremlin X Hellcat renderingAMC Gremlin X Hellcat renderingAMC Gremlin X Hellcat rendering1978 AMC Gremlin X1972 AMC Gremlin XDodge Challenger HellcatDodge Challenger Hellcat
On the flip side, the Gremlin didn't get a taste of the muscle car action of the early 1970s. The range-topping inline-six option of 1970 delivered only 145 horsepower, while the V8 mill that AMC launched in 1972 did not exceed 150 horses.

This somewhat unusual rendering fixes that problem by slapping a Dodge Challenger Hellcat front end to the Gremlin's hatchback body. And it works surprisingly well, especially with modern wheels and gold hockey stripe on black paint.

Of course, this is nothing more than a virtual experiment that will never become reality, even though it wouldn't be impossible to drop a Gremlin rear end on a Challenger platform. Needless to say, a hatchback with the Hellcat's supercharged, 707-horsepower V8 would be quite the wild rig.

Or it could pack the Hellcat Redeye's 6.2-liter V8, rated at an even wilder 797 horsepower. Or you could go completely insane and use a Challenger Demon for the conversion. That would cause a lot of jaws to drop to the ground at the drag strip.

But all this rendering does is remind me that the Gremlin spent almost its entire life-cycle in the Malaise era. I know most of you hate it, but I think it's one of the cooler 1970s cars and would have loved to see it with some sort of performance package.

Yes, the Gremlin was quicker than subcompacts like the Volkswagen Beetle and Ford Pinto, but it still needed more than 12 seconds to charge from zero to 60 mph (97 kph). It was designed as a fuel-efficient daily driver, so that's far from surprising.

However, a few lucky customers managed to buy performance-oriented Gremlins built by the Randall AMC dealership in Arizona. Endorsed by American Motors, these cars were fitted with larger, 401-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V8s and were quick enough to run the quarter-mile in less than 14 seconds.

Known as the Randall 401-XR, the beefed-up Gremlin saw daylight in just 20 units. Randal also built a Super Stock drag car that was raced at the 1972 Winternationals. But that's a different story for another time. Meanwhile, enjoy the cool "Gremlin X Hellcat" envisioned by rendering whizz "jlord8."

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Editor's note: For illustrative purposes, the photo gallery also includes image of the AMC Gremlin and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat.

About the author: Ciprian Florea
Ciprian Florea profile photo

Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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