One the most celebrated recipes for awakening consumer interest in a product is to issue a special edition. Whether it’s due to only being available for a limited time, or because there’s a numbered plaque on the dashboard to serve as a reminder of a car’s unique qualities, finding ways to market existing products is a skill auto manufacturers have mastered. This 1980 AMC Spirit AMX here on eBay is a textbook example, with fender flares, a decal kit, special wheels and aero bits, to make it stand out from the crowd – but it didn’t keep the Spirit alive.

Introduced around the same time as Ford’s Fox Body Mustang platform, the AMX-kitted Spirit had an uphill battle from the start. Coupled with the perception that its products were too old – perhaps due to its connections to the Gremlin – and the AMX may have been too little, too late. Which is a shame, because these cars were not just about appearances: bigger sway bars, high-performance and adjustable shocks, and improved brakes and steering round out the list of mechanical enhancements found on the AMX.

Other special features carried over to the interior, with a unique gauge cluster mounted in the console and fake aluminum trim throughout. In the case of this car, however, the interior is where the most work is needed. Being in Florida, I can only guess the sunshine and humidity are the culprits for this wrecked interior, which includes a buggered headliner, seats that need recovering, carpeting that is well past its expiration date, and other issues. The seller is including a replacement dash and two replacement seats in the sale.

For the 1980 model year, the 4.2L inline-six was the only engine offered. Although the V8 that came in ’79 is a bit more desirable, the inline sixes from AMC were proven performers as well. This AMX’s motor is said to run, but the ignition switch is damaged so the only way to shut it off is at the distributor plug. A project for sure, and there is a reserve price, unfortunately. The seller claims it is rust-free, with only some isolated surface spots to worry about. These AMX’s are hard to find, but should you hold out for a better example of this rare Spirit liftback?