This 1966 AMC Rambler Marlin Is a Fabulous Survivor With Original Paint

The Marlin was born a couple of years after Roy Abernethy had taken over as CEO. Abernethy replaced George W. Romney, who believed AMC's only chance against the Big Three was to focus on smaller-sized automobiles. While his strategy was successful and turned AMC into a pioneer of the compact market, the company was still miles behind in other segments.

Abernethy wanted to change that with a midsize vehicle that would occupy a unique niche in the market. The youth-oriented car had to look sporty but provide competitive roominess inside the cabin. His vision spawned the Rambler Tarpon, a four-seat fastback concept, in 1963.

Built on the Rambler American platform, the concept was approved for production one year later. However, AMC decided to produce it on the Rambler Classic platform, which provided enough room for its V8 engine. The Marlin arrived in 1965 with a premium interior and sporting many design cues from the Tarpon.

While a bit late to the personal luxury car market, the Marlin looked distinctive thanks to the fastback roof, which hadn't been used on a large scale on US production models since the 1940s. Penned by Dick Teague, the Marlin inspired Dodge to develop the first-generation Charger.

The latter was redesigned into a more mundane muscle car in 1968 and became one of the most iconic nameplates of the golden era. The Marlin, on the other hand, was discontinued after only three model years. And with 17,419 units sold from 1965 to 1967, it wasn't exactly successful either. For reference, Dodge sold 37,344 Chargers in 1966 alone.

Come 2024, the Marlin is pretty much forgotten, especially when compared to the Charger. And that's a shame because it's a vehicle that deserves credit for establishing the niche that gave us the Charger. Sure, the Marlin isn't the prettiest car of its era, but the quirky and daring design is precisely what makes it cool in my book. And I get excited whenever I see one in the wild.

The 1966 version you see here was spotted at a local car show, and it's probably one of the finest survivors out there. Finished in Sungold Amber, the fastback appears to still wear its original factory finish. Or at least that's what the weathering on some body panels suggests. On the flip side, it looks like the interior has been restored. Either that or whoever owned this car took great care of it.

The engine bay is also amazingly clean, so I'm tempted to believe the Marlin got a refresh under the hood at some point. This fastback rocks a 327-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) V8, one of several engine options available that year. The 327 V8 came in two flavors, starting with a two-barrel version rated at 250 horsepower. The four-barrel unit provided 270 horses as the range-topping option.

The 1966 Marlin is also a rare classic. While AMC sold 10,327 units in 1965, deliveries dropped to only 4,547 examples in 1966. It's not quite as scarce as the 1967 version, though, which moved only 2,545 units. Check it out in the video below.