Yahoo Autos Designerific 1975 AMC Matador Oleg Cassini Coupe Is Today's Bring a Trailer PIck
AMC's Matador coupe was a prime example of the brand's go-your-own-way design ethos/
Its funhouse styling was pretty out there compared to rivals like the Buick Regal and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
In order to enhance its appeal, AMC turned to a famous name from the fashion design world, Oleg Cassini, and the Matador seen here is a result of that collaboration. It's up for auction until July 24.
Anyone with a soft spot for underdogs can't help loving the story of the American Motors Corporation. AMC never had the deep pockets of the domestic Big Three automakers, but time and again it came up with creative and fun ways to get buyers into showrooms. One trick that AMC utilized was linking a famous designer to a car, starting with the Hornet X Gucci Sportabout. And, at the height of the 1970s personal luxury coupe mania, it slapped Oleg Cassini's name on the wildly styled Matador coupe.
One of those machines, a 1975 AMC Matador Brougham with the Oleg Cassini package, is for sale right now on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). It's basically the automotive version of that Sex Panther cologne from the Ron Burgundy movies. Crammed with copper accents and Cassini crests, it just oozes with the oleaginous charm of an infamous lothario.
If you've never seen what's been written about Cassini, strap in, because it could be made into an even more scandal-filled movie than House of Gucci. Born in Paris with royal blood from both his Russian father and Italian mother, he was officially a count, and he moved to the U.S. after reportedly winning a duel. There, he became a fixture of the Hollywood celebrity scene, becoming engaged to Grace Kelly, creating clothes for Jackie Kennedy during the Camelot White House days, and seducing everything that moved—including one Marilyn Monroe.
Cassini was one of the first designers to license his name to products, and he was as promiscuous with that as he was in his personal life. He came up with interesting looks like the Nehru jacket for men and military-uniform-inspired couture for women, but his greatest success was as an inveterate charmer of the fairer sex. It was the 1970s, and Cassini was basically James Bond without the gadgets and tedious spywork requirements.
Speaking on Bond, the Matador itself had a moment of fame as the chosen ride of assassin Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun. This '75 Matador was one year later than the fictional flying car, but the onscreen Matador was also an Oleg Cassini machine.
This example is the upmarket Brougham trim level, complete with a vinyl top that's pure 1970s. The Matador was a mid-size model, and it was no shrinking violet. Under the hood is a 360-cubic-inch V-8, good for 175 horsepower from the factory, with a three-speed automatic transmission for cruising Hollywood boulevards at night.
Reportedly, just 1817 examples of with the Oleg Cassini Matador were built for the 1975 model year, and your odds of seeing another one are as pencil-thin as Oleg's mustache. This one shows 95K miles and rides on 15-inch aftermarket wheels that suit the styling rather well. And if the exterior is slick, the interior is even more '70s luxo-tastic, with copper-buttoned fabric seats and orange carpets.
Head on over to Bring a Trailer for your chance to own one of AMC's most unusual underdogs. There's no reserve, so Oleg's car is going home with someone. He always did.
The auction ends on July 24.
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