AMC (American Motors) Rebel History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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The AMC Rebel replaced the Rambler Classic for 1967 as the brand dropped Rambler badging from its intermediates and repositioned itself as a performance-aware 'now car' rather than just an economy marque. The Rebel name itself reached back to the 1957 Rambler Rebel, often cited as one of the first factory lightweight muscle cars.
Its performance high point was the 1970 Rebel Machine: a 390-cubic-inch V8 rated at 340 hp, wrapped in bold white-with-red-white-and-blue striping, capable of roughly mid-14-second quarter-miles. Only 1,936 were built. The Rebel line was replaced by the larger Matador for 1971.
Body styles
- Hardtop
- Sedan
- Convertible
- Wagon
Notable special editions & performance variants
The Machine
A 340-hp 390 V8 muscle car in patriotic red/white/blue livery; 1,936 built — AMC's most overt muscle-era statement on the Rebel body.
Related models
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