Photo: tuningcar_ps / Instagram
Today, in an automotive world overrun by crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, perhaps it is pretty hard to grasp the concept of originality. That would be the moment when someone or some company innovates the field with something that few others have seen or thought about before. Such as the AMC Eagle.
Back when the patriotic American Motors Corporation (aka AMC, born in 1954, defunct in 1988) was still a thing, the company formed via the merger of the Hudson Motor Car Company and the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was trying to battle the Big Detroit Three – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. But its sales were more like those of Studebaker, Packard, Kaiser Motors, and Willys-Overland, among others, which basically relegated AMC to the status of a second-tier rival.
But usually, from underdog struggles to overcome the established norm come great things – or at least different stuff than anyone else thought. Such was the case with their Eagle compact 4WD passenger car produced during the 1980 to 1988 model years, which is now widely regarded as one of the first crossover vehicles in the world. Back then, though, the CUV term was not in use, and instead, the description called for coupe, sedan, and station wagon body styles with "passenger-car comfort, plus 4WD security for all-weather security."
The reason for this setup was simple – many automakers offered rugged off-road vehicles, but they were all fuel-thirsty monsters for the most part. So, AMC thought that consumers might need a vehicle with the creature comforts of an automobile that can also provide the same ride height and inclement weather capabilities as a 4WD utility vehicle. And yet, the concept wasn't chiseled enough to give us the American alternative of a Range Rover but rather looked quirky enough to elicit all sorts of 'Gremlin mates with Wagoneer' jokes. Naturally, maybe the market wasn't ripe for crossover SUVs just yet, so the AMC Eagle was only offered in a single generation.
Well, the concept of automobiles with off-road capabilities is coming back across the board, from lowly Dacia Stepway models that are cheaper than toothpaste (or so they say) to the latest trend of making crossover-sedan or crossover-sports car flagships. And we have examples from the area, too, like the recently reintroduced S235 Toyota Crown, the Porsche 911 Dakar special series, or the costlier V10-powered Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. Well, somebody thought that maybe it's the right time to give them an affordable American companion – aka the 2025 AMC Eagle SX/4 (this and Kammback trims were quite popular at the time).
Luckily for Porsche and Lamborghini (we're ironic), this is a figment of the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Meet the artist tucked behind the tuningcar_ps moniker on social media, who likes to CGI-play with simple yet quirky stuff, such as this AMC Eagle resurrection. In the digital past, the pixel master has done numerous feats of wonder, such as bringing the Dodge Charger sedan to Viper V10-swapped SRT10 specifications, fitting the Ram truck with a Demon V12 mill, or visually mixing the S650 Ford Mustang styling with the sixth-gen Chevy Camaro to invent a new 'S line' variant.
Well, this new idea of the CGI expert is not that absurd – the author simply took the 1980s AMC Eagle to 21st-century design standards and beefed up the hypothetical resurrection with a little bit of Dodgeness, according to the hashtags. Only that the artist didn't say anything about the powertrain, so we are secretly hoping for a Hellcat V8 transplant to show the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato a thing or two about considering it the poor man's off-road sports car across the parallel universes of CGI! Well, if it's wishful thinking, we can all dream a little of such quirky things – especially now that the EV lifestyle revolution is upon us!
But usually, from underdog struggles to overcome the established norm come great things – or at least different stuff than anyone else thought. Such was the case with their Eagle compact 4WD passenger car produced during the 1980 to 1988 model years, which is now widely regarded as one of the first crossover vehicles in the world. Back then, though, the CUV term was not in use, and instead, the description called for coupe, sedan, and station wagon body styles with "passenger-car comfort, plus 4WD security for all-weather security."
The reason for this setup was simple – many automakers offered rugged off-road vehicles, but they were all fuel-thirsty monsters for the most part. So, AMC thought that consumers might need a vehicle with the creature comforts of an automobile that can also provide the same ride height and inclement weather capabilities as a 4WD utility vehicle. And yet, the concept wasn't chiseled enough to give us the American alternative of a Range Rover but rather looked quirky enough to elicit all sorts of 'Gremlin mates with Wagoneer' jokes. Naturally, maybe the market wasn't ripe for crossover SUVs just yet, so the AMC Eagle was only offered in a single generation.
Well, the concept of automobiles with off-road capabilities is coming back across the board, from lowly Dacia Stepway models that are cheaper than toothpaste (or so they say) to the latest trend of making crossover-sedan or crossover-sports car flagships. And we have examples from the area, too, like the recently reintroduced S235 Toyota Crown, the Porsche 911 Dakar special series, or the costlier V10-powered Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. Well, somebody thought that maybe it's the right time to give them an affordable American companion – aka the 2025 AMC Eagle SX/4 (this and Kammback trims were quite popular at the time).
Luckily for Porsche and Lamborghini (we're ironic), this is a figment of the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. Meet the artist tucked behind the tuningcar_ps moniker on social media, who likes to CGI-play with simple yet quirky stuff, such as this AMC Eagle resurrection. In the digital past, the pixel master has done numerous feats of wonder, such as bringing the Dodge Charger sedan to Viper V10-swapped SRT10 specifications, fitting the Ram truck with a Demon V12 mill, or visually mixing the S650 Ford Mustang styling with the sixth-gen Chevy Camaro to invent a new 'S line' variant.
Well, this new idea of the CGI expert is not that absurd – the author simply took the 1980s AMC Eagle to 21st-century design standards and beefed up the hypothetical resurrection with a little bit of Dodgeness, according to the hashtags. Only that the artist didn't say anything about the powertrain, so we are secretly hoping for a Hellcat V8 transplant to show the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato a thing or two about considering it the poor man's off-road sports car across the parallel universes of CGI! Well, if it's wishful thinking, we can all dream a little of such quirky things – especially now that the EV lifestyle revolution is upon us!
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