Editing AMC Spirit (section)

===AMXs at the Nürburgring===
[[File:1979 AMC Spirit AMX Nurburgring winner at 2024 AMO meet 01of44.jpg|thumb|24-hour Nürburgring race car]]
[[File:1979 AMC Spirit AMX Nurburgring winner at 2024 AMO meet 08of44.jpg|thumb|The #2 car at 2024 AMO show]]

In October 1979, the B.F. Goodrich sponsored a pair of AMXs in the annual [[FIA]] [[Group 1 (racing)|Group One]] [[Nürburgring 24 Hours|24-hour race]] held at [[Germany]]'s legendary [[Nürburgring]].<ref name="hemmies">{{cite magazine |url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/amc-invades-germany |last=Mattar |first=George |title=AMC Invades Germany - circa 1979 |magazine=Hemmings Muscle Machines |date=February 2005 |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> The 1979 {{convert|304|CID|L|1|abbr=on}} V8-powered Spirit AMX was already [[homologation (motorsport)|homologated]] for European Group One Touring Car races.<ref name="RamblersAtThe'ring">{{cite magazine |url= https://www.motortrend.com/vehicle-genres/c12-0511-1979-nurburgring/ |title=Motorsports: 1979 Nurburgring 24-hour - Ramblers At The 'ring: Long before testing cars there was fashionable among domestic carmakers, American Motors and BFGoodrich assaulted the fabled Nordschleife |first1=Gary |last1=Witzenburg |first2=Rainer |last2=Schlegelmilch |date=17 May 2006 |magazine=Motor Trend |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>

The cars were the first-ever American entries in this grueling race.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} They would compete against smaller-engined, but more agile competitors from BMW, Ford, Opel, VW, Renault, and Audi.<ref name="RamblersAtThe'ring"/>

Drivers Amos Johnson and his partner Dennis Shaw were the team principals in the [[North Carolina]]–based "Team Highball." Supporting drivers were factory Mazda driver [[Jim Downing]] (who would later co-develop the [[HANS device]]), actor [[James Brolin]], [[Lyn St. James]], and automotive journalist Gary Witzenburg. Two street-stock cars (both with AMC {{convert|304|cuin|L|abbr=on}} and four-speed [[manual transmission]]s) were supplied to "Team Highball" for Group One race modifications less than three weeks before a [[Ship transport|transport ship]] would sail to Europe.<ref name="raceforaday">{{cite magazine |last=Witzenburg|first=Gary |title=Race for a Day: An AMX Adventure at Nurburgring |magazine=Automobile Quarterly|volume=19 |issue=1 |year=1981 |pages=30–39 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=c1NWAAAAMAAJ&q=Race+for+a+Day:+An+AMX+Adventure+at+Nurburgring |via=Google Books |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>

With almost no prior driving time on the racecourse, and with the race practice cut short by fog, the team qualified the cars in 20th and 21st overall. The #1 Johnson/Shaw/Brolin car was given the faster set-up, with the objective of winning the race.<ref name="hemmies"/>

In the race, the #1 car suffered broken front shock absorbers and a slipping clutch, and the engine burned oil. Witzenburg reported the brakes and both front shocks "all but gone" in #2 – pumping the brakes dragged the front spoiler, but had little effect on speed. Moreover, since the AMXs were "rather crude" compared with the smaller, lighter cars they were racing against, they lost time in the turns. Nevertheless, Witzenburg said the cars "ran great," especially on the straights where they reached about {{convert|140|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="raceforaday"/>

After driving almost {{convert|2000|mi|km|0}}, they finished first and second in class, 25th and 43rd overall out of a field of 120.<ref name="raceforaday"/> They were also the fastest entrants using street tires - BFG T/A [[Radial tire|radials]], and had no tire failures.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.planethoustonamx.com/stuff/amx_team_highball_nurburgring.htm |title=AMX Team Highball Spirit's in Nurburgring, Germany |website=planethoustonamx.com |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>

The preparation of the cars and the team's experience of the race itself were covered by a period [[documentary film]], ''The Ultimate Challenge''.<ref>A shortened version is available: {{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQqysjI9gM4&feature |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/bQqysjI9gM4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=The Ultimate Challenge (Part 1) |date=25 November 2007 |via=youtube |access-date=10 October 2019}}{{cbignore}} and {{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUCpknhTVmU&feature= |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/rUCpknhTVmU| archive-date=12 December 2021 |url-status=live |title=The Ultimate Challenge (Part 2) |date=25 November 2007 |via=youtube |access-date=10 October 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The #1 AMX Nürburgring race car "served as a showcar for a few months after the race, then went into storage for about 25 years" and has only about {{convert|4000|mi|km}} on its odometer.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2006/10/02/nurburgring-amx-1-for-sale |title=Nurburgring AMX #1 for sale! |first=Daniel |last=Strohl |date=2 October 2006 |publisher=Hemmings Motor News |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.amx-perience.com/Spirit_AMX_owners.php |title=Owners X-perience Spirit AMX 1 - 10 |website=amx-perience.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141004223237/http://amx-perience.com:80/Spirit_AMX_owners.php |archive-date=4 October 2014 |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> The #2 race car returned to the racing circuit for several years, but has been located and reunited with the original drivers after over 25 years.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wvqRb9WkMNsC&q=AMX+Nurburgring&pg=PA131 |pages=131–133 |title=The Cobra in the Barn: Great Stories of Automotive Archaeology |first1=Tom |last1=Cotter |first2=Peter|last2=Egan |publisher=MotorBooks International |year=2005 |chapter=Racing Relics |isbn=978-1-61060-004-0 |via=Google Books |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ssamx.com/1979_spirit_amx.htm |title=1979 Spirit AMX #2 |website=ssamx.com |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.race-cars.com/carsold/other/1119204510/1119204510ss.htm |title=1979 AMC Spirit-AMX Project (sold) |website=race-cars.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160624224234/http://www.race-cars.com/carsold/other/1119204510/1119204510ss.htm |archive-date=24 June 2016 |access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref>