We’ve only seen one other 1972 AMC Hornet Sportabout Gucci Edition wagon here on Barn Finds that I could dig up, and they are rare to see today. This example is a little rough, but it’s also fairly inexpensive for such a special model. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in the capital city of Oregon: Salem. The seller is asking $6,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Curvette for the tip!
A regular ol’ ’72 Hornet wagon, or Sportabout as they called them, would be a great car on its own, but having the Gucci edition bits and pieces included makes this one a heck of a find. From the outside, you’d never know it was anything special; it’s only wearing a couple of badges. This one doesn’t even have the bold stripe down the side that some of them had. Here’s a general 1972 Hornet brochure, and it mentions the Gucci edition, but there are no photos.
Most of them that I’ve seen, and the other one we saw here on Barn Finds back in 2022, were this same Hunter Green color as this example. They were also available in Snow White, Grasshopper Green, and Yucca Tan. No orange, bummer. You can see a few little dings around the exterior, and the paint is incredibly dull. The driver’s door appears to be sagging a bit, or maybe it’s the trim that’s sagging.
AMC made the Hornet from 1969 for the 1970 model year until the end of 1977, then it lived on as the slightly luxury’afied Concord series. 2,583 Gucci Sportabouts were made for the 1972 model year and another 2,252 for 1973. The seller hasn’t given the best photos, sadly. There isn’t one photo showing the dash, so be prepared, and the driver’s seat has seen better days. I’m hoping an upholstery shop can exactly match that vinyl and fix that seat. The back seat looks perfect, as do the door panels that we can see.
You know there is no engine photo if I’m putting another photo in the fifth spot. I always have an engine photo for the last one, but the seller didn’t bother to pop the hood or the hatchback, so we don’t get to see inside either end of this car. The engine should be AMC’s 258-cu.in. OHV inline-six with 110 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque when new. Power is sent through a column-shifted three-speed automatic to the rear wheels, and the seller says it runs and drives great, and has new tires. For $6,500, this is a no-brainer for anyone looking for a rare and interesting, not to mention popular at Cars & Coffee events, car that you can drive every day. Have any of you seen a Sportabout Gucci edition in person?
Huge props to Scotty for showing us the Craigslist ad. Because Its already gone. ( Either sold or changed their minds?) To find a Gucci edition, especially a wagon, with its interior intact is a huge plus. If the paint is original, I wonder if it would respond to a very light, very careful wet sanding, compound and polish with a wheel. I’d go that route before repainting it. I know I’ve mentioned like 58 times before we had an AMC Jeep dealer in our town and these wagons were very popular. Don’t ask me why but I remember those wheel covers on so many of them. As a kid in the 70’s, I used to look at hubcap designs, probably way more than any normal kid should. That and steering wheels as well. I can’t explain why, just something I’ve always done for as far back as I can remember. ( That and reel to reel tape decks, as very little kid, I loved watching Mission Impossible just for that, ok I’m veering waaay off course here sorry). I like this Hornet. And I enjoyed the write up Scotty, and Curvette, as always thank you for all your finds. You have a great talent finding a wide variety of vehicles that call out to everyone here.
Scotty is GR-8. Perhaps the last one left on this mud ball we call Earth!?.
When i was looking for my first car back in 1977, I saw a green Sportabout on a Ford dealer’s lot and was really interested. When I went to look at it, the salesman actually told me, “You don’t want that car.” To this day I remember that. How many car salesmen would say that? He must have known it was a huge lemon. Not saying this is, but it just reminded me of that. Ended up buying a 72 Ventura. Boy, I wish I had that car now