#AMCMarlin

Because 454 Cubic Inches Just Isn't Enough: AMC Marlin Racer Gets Twin Superchargers

The Speed Holes Racing AMC Marlin took home the Organizer’s Choice award at last year’s Colorado 24 Hours of LeMons race, because A) it has a 454 yanked from a wrecked GMC truck set back about three feet from the Marlin’s normal engine location, B) it has a Jaguar XJ6 rear suspension and differential, C) it has hundreds of speed holes punched into the body and, most of all, D) it’s an AMC Marlin. The Marlin wasn’t exactly fast (the tall Jaguar gears and very tired 300,000-mile EFI small-valve engine didn’t make for great acceleration out of the turns), but the handling was surprisingly good for such a big car. For the 2011 B.F.E. GP, Speed Holes Racing decided that more power would be needed.

Murilee Martin Jun 28, 2011

Recent Comments

Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh A prelude is a bad idea. There is already Acura with all the weird sport trims. This will not make back it's R&D money.
Analoggrotto I don't see a red car here, how blazing stupid are you people?
Redapple2 Love the wheels
Redapple2 Good luck to them. They used to make great cars. 510. 240Z, Sentra SE-R. Maxima. Frontier.
Joe65688619 Under Ghosn they went through the same short-term bottom-line thinking that GM did in the 80s/90s, and they have not recovered say, to their heyday in the 50s and 60s in terms of market share and innovation. Poor design decisions (a CVT in their front-wheel drive "4-Door Sports Car", model overlap in a poorly performing segment (they never needed the Altima AND the Maxima...what they needed was one vehicle with different drivetrain, including hybrid, to compete with the Accord/Camry, and decontenting their vehicles: My 2012 QX56 (I know, not a Nissan, but the same holds for the Armada) had power rear windows in the cargo area that could vent, a glass hatch on the back door that could be opened separate from the whole liftgate (in such a tall vehicle, kinda essential if you have it in a garage and want to load the trunk without having to open the garage door to make room for the lift gate), a nice driver's side folding armrest, and a few other quality-of-life details absent from my 2018 QX80. In a competitive market this attention to detai is can be the differentiator that sell cars. Now they are caught in the middle of the market, competing more with Hyundai and Kia and selling discounted vehicles near the same price points, but losing money on them. They invested also invested a lot in niche platforms. The Leaf was one of the first full EVs, but never really evolved. They misjudged the market - luxury EVs are selling, small budget models not so much. Variable compression engines offering little in terms of real-world power or tech, let a lot of complexity that is leading to higher failure rates. Aside from the Z and GT-R (low volume models), not much forced induction (whether your a fan or not, look at what Honda did with the CR-V and Acura RDX - same chassis, slap a turbo on it, make it nicer inside, and now you can sell it as a semi-premium brand with higher markup). That said, I do believe they retain the technical and engineering capability to do far better. About time management realized they need to make smarter investments and understand their markets better.

Car Reviews By Make

view all

Top stories

Because 454 Cubic Inches Just Isn't Enough: AMC Marlin Racer Gets Twin Superchargers

Latest Car Reviews

Drive Notes: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale eAWD

Drive Notes: 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT

2024 Hyundai Elantra N Review – Tightening Up

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Review – Shockingly Spicy

Drive Notes: 2024 Kia Telluride SX-Prestige X-Line

Drive Notes: 2024 Nissan Versa SR

Drive Notes: 2024 BMW i5 M60 xDrive

Latest Product Reviews

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals for TTAC Readers

TTAC Video of the Week: Looking Back on NASCAR Invading LeMans

Here’s How To Get the Best Deal on Winter Tires Right Now

Best Power Inverters for Your Car: Plugging Away

Best Sunshades for the Car: Where the Sun Don't Shine

Recent Comments

Car Reviews By Make