The Amphicat is a six-wheel-drive, skid steer amphibious all-terrain vehicle invented in Spain by

José Artés de Arcos José Artés de Arcos (1893–1985) was a Spanish businessman. He was born in Alhama de Almeria, Almeria on February 27, 1893. He died on 1 January 1985 in Almería. He was known in the automotive world, among many other accomplishments, for bei ...

, manufactured in the late 1960s through the early 1970s by Mobility Unlimited Inc. of

Auburn Hills, Michigan Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. Before incorporating as a city in 1983, the area was part of the now-defunct Pontiac Township. It is home to Oakland Universi ...

. The product line was purchased by Magna American (a division of Magna Corporation) which produced the vehicle in

Raymond, Mississippi Raymond is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,933; in 2020, its population was 1,960. Raymond is one of two county seats of Hinds County (along with Jackson) and is the home of th ...

for several years. The vehicle was also made in Canada by Behoo Industries and differed slightly from its American counterpart, mostly on the transom.banana-split-1969-amphicat
/ref> The Canadian version of the Amphicat was featured as the moon buggy used by Moonbase Alpha personnel in the television series '' Space: 1999'' and the US version as the Banana Splits' cars in the TV show ''

Banana Splits ''The Banana Splits'' is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. ...

''. It also appeared in the TV series ''

Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp ''Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp'' is an American action/adventure comedy series that originally aired Saturday mornings on ABC from September 12, 1970 to January 2, 1971 and rebroadcast the following season. The live-action film series featured a ...

'' and in an episode of ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ser ...

''.ATV World October 1970
/ref>

Technical details

* Body: Vacuum-formed ''Marbon Cycolac'' ABS

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

* Engine: 16 hp (12 kW) air-cooled

2-cycle A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

recoil start Rope start (also called pull start or ''rewind start'') is a method of starting an internal combustion engine, usually on small machines, such as lawn mowers, chainsaws, ultralight aircraft, small outboard motors and portable engine-generators ...

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as '' ...

* Transmission – Ontario Drive & Gear Limited (ODG) manufactured a special transmission capable of forward and reverse for the Amphicat. ODG would use this experience to introduce their own Argo ATVs. * Clutches – automatic

torque converter A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque converter connects the pow ...

for driving, disc-type for steering * Brakes – band type on drum * Tires – specially designed 11.5x20 Amphicat

tubeless tires Tubeless tires ( also spelled as tubeless tyres in Commonwealth English) are pneumatic tires that do not require a separate inner tube. Unlike pneumatic tires which use a separate inner tube, tubeless tires have continuous ribs molded integra ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Amphicat 6x6 ATV infoUTV Accessories & Parts
ATVs Six-wheeled vehicles Wheeled amphibious vehicles