This 1978 AMC Matador Barcelona Is a Forgotten Luxury Coupe With a NASCAR Link

The list includes the Rambler Marlin, which reportedly inspired the Dodge Charger's design, and the Rambler Rebel, one of the first American muscle cars. AMC also created performance-oriented cars like the AMX, Javelin, and the Rebel Machine. Many of you also remember the Gremlin and the Pacer, two of the industry's quirkiest designs.

But I'm not here to talk about any of these vehicles. My goal is to show you an AMC many people no longer remember. I'm talking about the Matador Coupe, a short-lived design sold from 1974 through 1978.

The Matador was born in 1970 as a successor to the Rebel. Designed by Dick Teague, the midsize was offered in three body styles: four-door sedan, station wagon, and two-door hardtop. The Matador was relatively successful overall, but the hardtop version didn't find many customers as the oil crisis hit the car industry in 1973.

As a result, AMC decided to drop this body style for 1974, when the Matador was redesigned. Instead, it developed a brand-new coupe with radically different styling. Also penned by Teague, the Matador Coupe arrived with a streamlined body and tunnel-like headlamps inspired by the 1964 Rambler American.

Aimed at midsize cars like the Chevrolet Chevelle and Ford Torino, the Matador Coupe was a big hit in 1974 and moved 62,629 units. However, sales dropped dramatically in the following years, with AMC selling fewer than 100,000 units by 1978. Final-year coupe sales included only 2,006 examples.

The car you're looking at is part of that late and limited run. But it's not a regular 1978 Matador Coupe. This two-door left the assembly line with the Barcelona package, a premium bundle that moved the car into the personal luxury segment.

The Barcelona package was introduced in 1977 as a successor to the Oleg Cassini special edition (1974-1975). It cost $849, which added an $18% premium to the base price, and included a two-tone paint finish, an opera top, color-keyed bumpers, and unique upholstery and interior accents.

Initially only available in Golden Ginger Metallic on Sand Tan (pictured here), the Barcelona model was also offered in Autumn Red Metallic on Claret Metallic in 1978. The option was also extended to the four-door sedan that year. And due to the low sales of the Matador Coupe that year, the 1978 Barcelona is one of the rarest AMCs ever produced.

The exact number of vehicles sold with this package is unknown (AMC didn't keep records), but word has it only a third of the Matador Coupes built that year were ordered with this bundle. This means we are looking at fewer than 700 examples. And needless to say, many of them are no longer around, and this tan version here might just be one of the finest survivors.

Almost flawless inside and out, this AMC was repainted once, but it's highly original otherwise. It's also fitted with the optional 360-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) V8 instead of the standard 258-cubic-inch (4.2-liter) inline-six. It may not be a historically significant AMC, but it's a rare gem we don't get to see very often.

Now, what about that NASCAR link? Well, the Matador Coupe arrived about a year after AMC's first official (and surprising) entry into NASCAR. The company teamed up with Penske Racing and used Matador hardtops through 1973 before switching to the new coupe version. The latter faired much better thanks to its aerodynamic design, and there's speculation that AMC also designed the Matador Coupe with racing in mind.

The car won four races between November 1974 and September 1975, all with Bobby Allison behind the steering wheel. Allison also scored a second-place finish at the 1975 Daytona 500. But that's enough history for today. Hit the play button below to see the Barcelona edition sitting pretty.