How Much Is An AMC Javelin Worth Today & What Is Its Top Speed?
AMC (American Motors Corporation) was formed in 1954 by the merger of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company. It survived until being bought by Chrysler in 1987, mostly for its Jeep brand. AMC also produced some underrated muscle cars in its heyday, as well as joining the pony car craze with the Javelin in 1968. A total of 227,610 AMC Javelins were made during model years of 1968-1974. A generational update came in 1971, and new emissions and fuel economy standards brought the end of the line for the Javelin and its big V8 engines.
Like any classic car, the value of an AMC Javelin varies wildly according to condition, mileage, and any features or upgrades. Many Javelins were modified for racing, making these beasts especially valuable. Hagerty values a 1969 Javelin with a 343 cubic inch V8 in good condition at $15,500 and a 1973 fastback coupe with AMC's 360-inch V8 at $14,200. Real-world transactions tend to happen at higher prices, though. According to Classic.com, the 16 Javelins sold in the last year went for an average of $32,472 and ranged from $8,800 to $77,000. Javelin race cars are more capable, much rarer, and have their own category on Classic.com. The site shows three sales of Javelin race cars since February 2020 at $38,000, $68,00 and $80,000. Hemmings currently has a 1971 Javelin AMX Trans Am series replica race car listed at $95,000, but it never saw competition and isn't street legal. The top speed of an AMC Javelin can be difficult to pin down since it came with a variety of engines and rear axle configurations, and manufacturers and owners of that era were more concerned with 0-60 mph sprints and quarter-mile times.
The Javelin came with a few different V8s
Reliable top speed data for the AMC Javelin is scarce, but Hot Rod magazine tested a 1970 Javelin with a 390 cubic inch 325 horsepower engine, four-speed manual transmission, and 3.54:1 rear end as going up to about 115 mph. With a different gearing and some engine upgrades, it's easy to imagine improving that by a few lines on the speedometer.
As far as acceleration, Hot Rod tested two versions of the Javelin. One equipped with a 343 cubic-inch V8 engine put down a 0-60 mph run of 7.6 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 15.1 seconds at 93 MPH. It also tested the 390 cubic-inch V8 version. That car sprinted from 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds and did the quarter mile in 14.6 seconds, although a trap speed wasn't given.
The second-generation Javelin was one of the AMC cars that used its 401 cubic-inch engine; that motor produced an impressive 330 horsepower upon its 1971 debut. Automakers switched from gross to net horsepower ratings the following year, dropping the production version's number by 75 hp for 1972. The Javelin was a juggernaut on the Trans Am racing circuit, with Mark Donohue driving one to the 1971 Trans Am driver's title. Donohue was a driver and mechanic who is credited with pioneering the use of stripes on racing car steering wheels to track corner exits.