1971 AMC Javelin

The Javelin was a calculated risk for the conservative American Motors Company, but the appeal of the pony car market and the drastic rise of the muscle car era of the 1960s was too great. They recognized an opportunity to showcase their exceptional styling, attract new buyers into their showrooms, and turn heads on the pavement. The Javelin was completely restyled for 1971, a twin-canopy roof with a spoiler-type rear window lip, full-width tail lamps, and highly sculptured fenders. Mark Donohue was a man of many talents, being an outstanding engineer and having led the Penske team to the 1971 SCCA Trans Am series championship, he was largely responsible for many of the noticeable cosmetic changes to the Javelin, namely to the hood, rear spoiler and grille. The interior was completely redesigned and upgraded with a wraparound, aircraft-inspired dashboard for the driver's instrumentation.

Driving for Roger Penske Racing, Mark Donohue won the Trans-Am Drivers' Championship in 1968 and 1969 driving a Chevrolet Camaro, and an AMC Javelin in 1971. Penske and Donohue began racing for the AMC team in 1970 and scored three victories earning AMC second overall in the Manufacturers' Championship, behind the Bud Moore Ford Mustangs. In 1971, of the ten races of the Over 2.5L Class, Donohue won seven of them, including the final six races in a row. Needless to say, AMC won the Manufacturers' championship for the first time ever. In the final race of the season, Javelins finished in first, second and third place, with George Follmer becoming the only other Javelin driver to win besides Donohue.

AMC factory literature proclaimed that improvement-after-improvement was made and the lessons learned in the Trans-Am racing effort were applied to the Javelin.

For 1971, the Javelin was available in three levels of trim that included the base Javelin, the Javelin SST and the Javelin AMX. The base 2-door fastback coupe, which had a factory price of $2,900, came with an overhead-valve, six-cylinder engine with a cast-iron block and a 232 CID displacement. The seven main bearing engine offered 135 horsepower and was backed by a three-speed manual transmission with floor shift controls. Standard equipment included a Custom steering wheel, high-back bucket seats, glove box lock, dual horns, cigar lighter, and color-keyed carpets.

The Javelin SST, which sold for $3,000, added a rear ashtray, wheel covers, rubber trunk mat, and Sports steering wheels. The Javelin AMX added a center console without armrest, E70-14 glass-belted tires, a rear deck-mounted spoiler, slot style wheels, and the 360 CID two-barrel V8 engine delivering 245 horsepower.

The base V-8 engine was the overhead valve 304 CID with 210 horsepower. A four-barrel 401 CID with 330 horsepower was optional for an additional $137. Other optional equipment included a heavy-duty 70amp battery, twin-grip differential, dual exhaust, a heavy-duty radiator, engine block heater (cold start package), four-speed manual transmission with floor shift controls, Shift-Command with floor or column shift and console, and additional axle ratios. A Plethora of convenience options could also be ordered including air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, electric clock, electric rear defogger, tinted glass, and more.

Production figures for the 1971 Javelin include 7,105 of the base Javelin, 17,707 of the SST, and 2,054 of the AMX. Javelin sales accounted for 11% of the AMC's total of 244,758 sales for 1971.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020