The Amphicar Model 770 is an

amphibious automobile An amphibious automobile is an automobile that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. They are unarmored for civilian use. ATVs Amongst the smallest non air-cushioned amphibious vehicles are amphibious ATVs ...

which was launched at the 1961

New York Auto Show The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan, New York City in late March or early April. It is held at the Javits Center, Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weeke ...

. It was made in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and marketed from 1961 to 1968, with production ceasing in 1965. Designed by Hans Trippel, the amphibious vehicle was manufactured by the Quandt Group at

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

and at Berlin-Borsigwalde, with a total of 3,878 manufactured in a single generation. The name ''Amphicar'' is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "amphibious" and "car". A spiritual descendant of the Volkswagen Schwimmwagen, and the

Trippel SG6 The Trippel SG 6 was a ''Schwimmwagen'' (amphibious vehicle) developed in the 1930s and used by the German ground forces during the Second World War. History In 1935 Hans Trippel began to design all-terrain amphibious vehicle prototypes. In 1936 ...

, the Amphicar offered only modest performance compared to most contemporary boats or cars, featured navigation lights and flag as mandated by the US Coast Guard – and after operation in water, required greasing at 13 points, one of which required removal of the rear seat. In 2014, the publication ''Petrolicious'' described the Amphicar as "good for one thing: fun. It's not quick or flashy, but it's iconic, unique and friendly. What more could you ask from a vintage car? The Amphicar might not make any sense and that's precisely why it's so wonderful."

Product description (1966 Amphicar Model 770)

Engine: Triumph four-cylinder engine of 1147 cc, 8:1 compression ratio, rated at 43 bhp Chassis/body Appearance Front undersurface is slightly pointed and sharply cut away below. The wheels are set low, so that the vehicle stands well above ground level when on dry land. Front and rear bumpers are placed low on the body panels (but fairly high in relation to dry ground). The one-piece

windshield The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...

is curved. The foldable top causes the body style to be classified as ''

cabriolet A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving ex ...

''. Its water propulsion is provided by twin propellers mounted under the rear bumper.A. L. Manwaring, ''The Observer's Book of Automobiles'' (12th ed. 1966), Library of Congress catalog card 62-9807, p. 38 The Amphicar is made of

mild steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

Powertrain

The Amphicar's engine was mounted at the rear of the craft, driving the rear wheels through a 4-speed manual transmission. For use in the water, the same engine drove a pair of reversible propellers at the rear, with a second gear lever engaging forward or reverse drive. Once in the water, the main gear lever would normally be left in neutral. By engaging first gear as well as drive to the propellers when approaching a boat ramp, the Amphicar could drive itself out of the water.

Performance

The powerplant was the 1147 cc (69 in³) Standard SC engine from the British Triumph Herald 1200. Many engines were tried in prototypes, but the Triumph engine was "state of the art" in 1961 and it had the necessary combination of performance, weight, cool running, and reliability. Updated versions of this engine remained in production in the

Triumph Spitfire The Triumph Spitfire is a British sports car manufactured over five production iterations between 1962 and 1980. Styled for Standard- Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Spitfire was introduced at the London Motor Show i ...

until 1980. The Amphicar engine had a power output of 43 hp (32 kW) at 4750

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

, slightly more than the Triumph Herald due to a shorter exhaust. Designated the "Model 770", the Amphicar could achieve speeds of 7

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

s in the water and 70 mph (110 km/h) on land. Later versions of the engine displaced 1296 cc and 1493 cc and produced up to . Amphicar 1962

In water as well as on land, the Amphicar is steered with the front wheels, making it less maneuverable than a conventional boat.

In popular culture

In June, 1965, two Amphicars successfully navigated the

Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...

in Alaska. In September, 1965, two Amphicars crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

In August, 1967, four Amphicars participated in the 1967 Yukon River Flotilla a joint

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

project commemorating the memory of the rugged Klondike gold-seekers who sailed down the

in 1898. Lea Edgar wrote in ''BC Shipping News'', October 2018: "One more local story regarding the Amphicar is that of the 1967 Yukon River Flotilla. A 10-day, 460-mile trip from

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

down river to Dawson City was planned as a joint Alaska-Yukon Centennial project. Fifty-four craft were used, of those, four were Amphicars. The owners of the Amphicars were all Americans from Alaska. On August 16, the flotilla, including the Amphicars, made it to

Dawson City Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

where

Discovery Day Discovery Day is the name of several holidays commemorating the discovery of land, gold, and other significant national discoveries. The Bahamas The Bahamas Discovery Day was a public holiday on October 12, that celebrated the arrival of Christop ...

celebrations were in full swing." US President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

owned an Amphicar. Johnson, a known practical joker, was said to enjoy frightening visitors at his Johnson City, Texas, ranch by driving them downhill in his Amphicar, directly into his property's lake, all the while shouting that he had malfunctioning brakes. Amphicars appear in the films '' Rotten to the Core'' (1965), '' The Sandwich Man'' (1966), ''

The President's Analyst ''The President's Analyst'' is a 1967 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Ted Flicker and starring James Coburn. The film has elements of political satire and science fiction, including themes concerning modern ethic ...

'' (1967), ''

Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...

'' (1968), '' The Laughing Woman'' (1969), '' Savannah Smiles'' (1982), and '' Pontiac Moon'' (1994), and in episode five of season four of '' The Avengers'' ("Castle De'ath", 1965). It also appears in the TV movie '' All the Way'' (2016). In a fifth-season episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', an antique filmstrip touts Springfield's famous "aqua-car" factory, showing Amphicars rolling off an assembly line and into the water.

History

Production started in late 1960. By the end of 1963, complete production was stopped. From 1963 to 1965 cars were assembled from shells and parts inventory built up in anticipation of sales of 25,000 units, with the last new build units assembled in 1965. Cars were titled in the year they actually sold rather than when they were produced, e.g. an unsold Amphicar assembled in 1963 or 1965 could be titled as 1967 or 1968 if that was when it was first sold. Although the inventory could not be sold in the U.S. in the 1968 model year or later due to new environmental and USDOT emissions and safety equipment standards, they were available in other countries into 1968. The remaining inventory of unused parts was eventually purchased by Hugh Gordon of Santa Fe Springs, California. Most Amphicars were sold in the United States. Cars were sold in the United Kingdom from 1964. Total production was 3,878 vehicles, of which only 97 were right-hand drive. Some were used in the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

police department and others were fitted for rescue operations.

Amphicar shows and rides

Amphicar owners regularly convene during the spring, summer, and fall at various locations nationwide for "swim-ins", the largest of which is held at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park, Ohio. In 2015, the Boathouse at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Disney Springs Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando. First opened in 1975 as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, it has been expanded and rebra ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, began offering public Amphicar rides to visitors, charging $125 per ride for groups of up to three. Disney heavily re-engineered and enhanced the eight Amphicars of various original colors in its fleet for safety, reliability, and comfort.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Amphicar
Official website of the International Amphicar Owners Club

400+ member Amphicar discussion forums
with thousands of archived messages related to the Amphicar
Amphicars.com a UK site with a lot of photographs and information on the "Wonderful World of Amphicars"

AmphicarVentures
has photos, videos, history, and a list of Amphicar friendly lakes and ramps
Amphicar picnic: light-hearted video
Mid-1960s video of an Amphicar in Jacksonville, Florida, in a short video with a local television personality.
Amphicar
Video produced by '' Wisconsin Public Television'' Vehicles introduced in 1961 Wheeled amphibious vehicles Rear-engined vehicles