To create the AMX II, AMC design chief Richard Teague reached outside his own styling studios and brought in independent designer and builder Vince Gardner. 

In his long tenure as vice president of design at American Motors from 1964 to 1983, Richard A. Teague earned a reputation for working outside the box. This constant drive to be different could be seen, for example, in the four Project IV concept vehicles his design staff prepared for a 1966 promotional tour, with displays in six major American cities. For one of the  Project IV cars, the AMX II, Teague reached outside the box a little further and brought in an independent designer, Vincent E. Gardner.

Among car designers, Vince Gardner had a remarkable skill set. In addition to being a talented stylist, he was also a highly capable clay modeler and fabricator. As a kid fresh out of high school, he prepared the clay model for the 1936 Cord 810, working alongside designer Gordon A. Buehrig. His own design credits include the 1947 Gardner Special, the 1953 Vega sports car, and the 1964 Mustang III, while the 1962 Thunderbird Italien and 1968 Dodge Charger III are among the concept vehicles he constructed for the automakers.

While the AMX II was Gardner’s creation, it didn’t look at all out of place among the other three Project IV concept vehicles, integrating nicely. (See our feature on the Project IV Cavalier here.) According to the American Motors press materials, the AMX II was intended to expand on the theme of the AMX sports car concept, which made its public debut in the Project IV program

Eight inches longer than the AMX, the AMX II included room for four passengers and a generous trunk. (AMX stood for American Motors eXperimental.) Though it almost doesn’t look it, the wheelbase was a full 110 inches, with a shape that could remind you of the 1967 Mercury Cougar, though it’s slimmer, less chunky.

Features included hidden headlamps and windshield wipers, while an automated circuit locked the doors when the AMX II was moving. At the rear was was a safety tail lamp arrangement with green, yellow, and red segments for driving, slowing, and braking. However, it seems many of these features probably existed only on paper.

Like the other Project IV cars, the AMX was not a running vehicle, but merely a fiberglass studio glider with no drivetrain or running gear. There was no real interior, either, only a black sillhouette panel inside, just under the beltline, to fill the cabin volume. Like so many pushmobile show cars, the AMX II served no real function once its display career was concluded, so it was more than likely scrapped soon after.