When it comes to muscle cars from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, people usually remember the really iconic nameplates. I’m talking about the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Plymouth Barracuda, just to name a few. But the muscle car segment expanded well beyond GM, Ford, and Chrysler. American Motors Corporation, for instance, built quite a few impressive cars. The AMC Javelin is one of them, and it just dropped by Jay Leno’s garage.

Styled by Dick Teague, the Javelin went into production in 1967, about a year after the Chevrolet Camaro arrived to compete with the Mustang. Granted, AMC was a bit late to the pony car party, but the Javelin had everything it needed to compete with the big boys, including a 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 good for 315 horsepower.

But the Javelin you’re about to see below is far from regular. In this week’s episode of his famous YouTube series, Jay Leno drives the Mark Donohue Edition, an often forgotten version of the Javelin, built to homologate the muscle car for the SCCA Trans-Am racing series.

AMC joined the series in 1968 with Kaplan Engineering and became the only factory entry to finish every race it entered. Following two relatively successful seasons, AMC shocked the racing world by convincing Penske Racing to drop Chevrolet to take over the Javelin program in 1970. Roger Penske brought driver Mark Donohue with him.

AMC finished its first season with Penske in second place, behind Ford, but won the over 2.5-liter class in 1971. AMC went on to win the Trans-Am championship in 1972 and 1976 as well, but we’re going to look at what happened after its second-place finish in 1970. Because that’s when the company started rolling out special models to capitalize on the Javelin’s success on the track.

That’s when the Mark Donohue Edition surfaced. An SST trim fitted with a rear ducktail spoiler designed by Donohue himself, this limited-series Javelin was built in just 2,501 examples. Enough to enable AMC to homologate the aero feature for the 1971 Trans-Am season. The cars also came with Donohue’s signature on the spoiler and the Go Package, which added the Ram Air hood.

The Donohue Javelins were offered with either the 360-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) or the 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 engines. The car shown here is fitted with the latter, which was the most powerful option at the time at 325 horsepower.

But what makes this specific Mark Donohue Edition model stand out, even more, is the fact that it’s a true survivor. Yes, the green paint, the almost perfect upholstery, and the V8 engine are all factory features (except for the radiator) and haven’t been restored in 50 years. Sure, with almost 50,000 miles (80,467 km) on the odometer, this AMC likely spent a few good years in a garage, but it’s still an impressive example of a rare car.

And Leno seems to dig it as well. He compares it to the Mercury Cougar of the era and claims that the AMC Javelin deserves a lot more attention than it received back in the day. Hit the play button below to check this unique muscle car out and learn a few things about AMC and the Javelin.