In late 2002, I stumbled upon something extraordinary: what appeared to be a Hornet pickup—a "Hornet Camino," if you will. Ever seen one? You probably haven't, because this might just be the only one in existence. Discovered while surfing the web, this custom creation sports license plates boldly declaring "ONLY 1"—and I have every reason to believe it!
Why it existed
- The Cowboy was a compact pickup / coupe utility concept developed in the early 1970s as a potential response to small imported pickups (Datsun, Toyota, etc.) and to get more mileage out of the new Hornet platform.
- After AMC’s 1970 Jeep acquisition and major investment into the Hornet program, the idea was to leverage the Hornet while also tying in Jeep’s “truck” image.
How it was engineered
- AMC hit a tooling-cost wall if it tried to make a one-piece “ute” body like an El Camino or Ranchero. The workaround was a separate cab + cargo box supported by a rear stub-frame/subframe.
- Reported packaging details include the fuel tank mounted under the front portion of the cargo bed area (often described as using an Ambassador tank) and the spare tire mounted under the rear portion of the bed.
Prototypes (reported)
- Several sources report three prototypes:
- A red prototype initially wearing Jeep badging.
- A green and white prototype built from a Hornet SC/360 (360 V8), with comfort features like radio and air conditioning.
- A yellow prototype reported with a six-cylinder and a Gremlin-style front end.
What happened to it
- Sources generally agree the program was shelved in favor of other Hornet variants, including the later Hornet hatchback.
- Notes from later writeups report the green-and-white prototype was purchased by Jim Alexander and remained with family for some time, with front-end changes reported in later years.
Sources (for follow-up reading)
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