1979 Spirit AMX: the badge moves to the liftback

For 1979 the AMX name moved onto AMC's new Spirit liftback, with JavelinAMX.com recording a choice between the 258 six and the 304 two-barrel V8 for the year. Wikipedia describes the Spirit AMX package itself as color-matched fender flares and an air dam, a Rally-Tuned suspension with larger sway bars and adjustable Gabriel Strider shocks, 14-inch wheels on ER60x14 raised-white-letter radials, a rear spoiler, stripes and decals, and a Rallye gauge package, though this record's own overview notes plainly that this description has not yet been checked against the actual 1979 AMC factory literature.^1,2

No confirmed Spirit AMX production figure was found in any source consulted, and this record states directly that Wikipedia's own Spirit production table covers all Spirit trims combined without a separate AMX breakdown, so the absence of a documented count in this record reflects a genuine gap rather than an implied zero. A single unattributed secondary figure exists: an autoevolution article states that AMC delivered only 3,657 units in 1979, a figure this record's own production note describes as resting on no stated underlying source, referring to deliveries rather than confirmed factory builds, and carrying no engine or transmission split of its own. This record's own notes identify an AMC production report or the Standard Catalog of American Cars as the best candidates for a primary figure, neither of which was accessible to this record's research.^2,3

A manufacturer's suggested retail price of $6,090 is recorded from AMC's own dealer price list for the "AMX" row of the Spirit two-door liftback body. Two engines are documented: a 258 six rated 110 hp and a 304 two-barrel V8 rated 125 hp, both figures as reported by autoevolution with this record's own engine entries noting that the underlying rating basis, while presumably SAE net for the era, is not itself stated by that source.^4,3

This record's own transmissions section is empty for 1979, even though the options list separately documents a four-speed floor shift as standard equipment on the AMX; no dedicated transmission entry was found to restate that detail in the transmissions array itself. The standard AMX equipment package is otherwise extensive: the 258 six, G.T. Rally-Tuned suspension, halogen high beams, a gauge package with tachometer, Caberfae corduroy or Sport Vinyl custom bucket seats, a full-length console, a leather-wrapped sport steering wheel, black bumpers with guards, a front air dam and rear spoiler, color-keyed fender flares with accent stripes, Turbocast II aluminum wheels, ER60x14 raised-white-letter radials, and AMX graphics with a hood flame decal.

Six exterior colors are documented for the AMX specifically: Olympic White, Classic Black, Wedgwood Blue, Saxon Yellow, Morocco Buff and Firecracker Red, with this record's own paint note explaining that the 1979 AMC color chart marks nine colors as available on all AMC carlines except the AMX and one additional color as exclusive to the Pacer, leaving these six as the remainder specifically reserved for the AMX. Two interior trims are recorded, both in bucket-seat form: Caberfae corduroy fabric and Sport Vinyl, with no further color breakdown found for either.

Specification detail includes a 96-inch wheelbase, 168.5-inch overall length, 71.8-inch width, 51.6-inch height, front and rear track of 58.1 and 57.5 inches, 24.8 cu ft of cargo volume and a 2,970-lb curb weight, alongside a detailed axle-ratio table covering the 258 and 304 across manual and automatic transmissions in 49-state, California and high-altitude emissions configurations. No performance-test data, identification detail, or logged conflict is recorded anywhere in this record for the 1979 model year.