Nineteen seventy-one marked the redesign of both Ford’s Mustang and AMC’s Javelin. Both were inspired by race cars of the time. In comparison, contrast them with the stubby 1970 Barracuda and Challenger or the European-inspired Camaro and Firebird – maybe you’ll agree the Mustang and Javelin were more contemporary, but they also haven’t aged as well to contemporary eyes.

Still, the 1971-73 Mustang continues to be popular because, by golly, it’s a Mustang. In contrast, the 1971-74 Javelin is overshadowed by the earlier 1968-70 generation (especially the AMX), not to mention the fact that it’s an AMC product so it has to fight for attention by nature. This has made the second-generation Javelin a sleeper in the collector hobby.

When the 1971 Javelin was introduced, there was good and bad for AMC fans. The good was the enlargement of the 390 to 401 CID; the bad was the relegation of the AMX to a performance package for the Javelin from a special two-seat iteration of the Javelin. The 401 was rated at 330 gross hp and was available with cowl induction. Base car was simply the Javelin, with the Javelin SST being a step up in trim (and, as it ended up, in popularity). Despite the fact that the writing was on the wall for sporty cars, AMC managed to keep the Javelin alive through 1974, even with the big 401. Compare that to the other ponycars – only the Firebird managed to keep an engine 400 CID or larger.

Of course, the first-gen Javelin and AMX is what has captured the hearts of the collector, so they are easier to find. This is especially true because bit over 700 Javelin AMXs were built with the 401 in 1971. The car in the first video, a Javelin SST with the 401, is rarer, making for an underrated collectible for an already-underrated brand.