Giotto Bizzarrini, of ex-Ferrari fame, was specifically responsible for making a production worthy AMX/3 out of the show queen AMX/2. What would have been a challenging build for AMC, was easily handled by Bizzarrini who was very familiar with race car design and construction, particularly on a tight budget.
Bizzarrini’s final AMC/3 featured the hallmark of sports engineering, a mid-mounted engine and rear transaxle. The Italian firm Melara developed the new gearbox while BMW completed final testing on the roadworthy AMX/3. It seemed AMC was serious about production. From a design standpoint, the AMC/3 was remarkably similar to Ford’s DeTomaso Pantera which debuted just one day after the AMC/3. Such timely releases made it unclear exactly who copied who, but in any case, the casual observer can easily mistake the AMC/3 with a Pantera.
