1961 - 1968 Amphicar
Provided by Hemmings

Perhaps one of the quirkiest vehicles ever aimed at the U. S. market was the Amphicar 770 of 1961-67. The brainchild of German Hans Trippel, this road-going, water-worthy transportation was advertised as a "queer duck" and "the car that swims," and surprisingly it sold reasonably decent numbers during the six years that it was available on these shores. To trace the development of this particularly innovative interpretation of vehicular transportation, one has to look back to the pre-war years of the early '30s when Trippel, intrigued by the concept of amphibious automobiles, began putting his ideas into functional form. It is worth pointing out that, long before Trippel, a host of other inventors and automobile manufacturers had come up with amphibians - some worked, others did not. During the Second World War, The U.S. military had the GMC DUKW and Ford GPA while the Germans had the Volkswagen-derived Schwimmwagen and Trippel's Schwimboate variations stemming from his mid-'30s designs.

After the war, Trippel continued on the theme, coming up with the predecessor to the Amphicar, the Marathon, at the close of the 1950s. In 1959, he debuted the Alligator at the Geneva auto show, and it was this vehicle, with some changes, that became the Amphicar. After obtaining financial backing for the project from Harold Quandt of Quandt Industries, part owners of BMW, Amphicar production commenced, with U.S. distribution secured through Quandt's connections.

Built with an eye towards cost effectiveness, many of the components for the amphibian were outsourced from other manufacturers. The 1,147cc, 43-hp Triumph Herald four-cylinder engine was the chosen powerplant. It was coupled to a special Hermes-built transaxle gearbox that provided four forward gears for on-land operation, and a forward and reverse gear to turn the dual propellers when in the water. Like the engine, electrical systems were British, of the Lucas variety, while many braking and suspension pieces can be traced to Mercedes. In the water, braking was accomplished by shifting into reverse and accelerating. There wasn't a conventional rudder and tiller steering system; instead, the front wheels were used for turning in the water. The body construction, an outer, underside "hull" attached to a boxed and cross-braced frame, featured electrically welded seams and displaced enough water as not to require buoyancy tanks or other flotation devices. The Amphicar made its first appearance in the U.S. at the 1961 New York International Auto Show and at the Miami Boat Show. Even if it didn't live up to its advertised title of "sports car" on land, it was a capable performer on the water with a top speed of approximately seven knots. A relatively high freeboard of 21 inches meant that rough water was not a concern. In fact, two Amphicars piloted by British soldiers crossed the English Channel! It was not noted for precise maneuvering, thanks to the lack of a rear-mounted rudder, but the ability to drive into the water with a showy splash, engage the twin propellers and "swim" away from the boat launch certainly left many boat owners with jaws agape in envious wonder.

Initially, the Amphicar met with limited sales success and also found a niche outside the typical market, as many corporations realized its potential as a unique promotional vehicle that got plenty of bemused attention from the public. Subsequently, it appeared in display ads for a variety of non-automotive products, helping sell everything from candy bars and Pepsi-Cola to department store wares. Even Lyndon Baines Johnson owned an Amphicar.

Throughout its production span more than 3,000 Amphicars were built, mainly for the U.S. market. Many would-be owners were no doubt dissuaded from buying by the fact that it carried a sticker price of over $3,000 (high for its day) and required regular maintenance that went far beyond what the average automobile needed. The final insurmountable obstacle came in the form of U.S. safety mandates. Meeting new bumper requirements and other safety mandates would have required an extensive and expensive redesign, the costs of which could not be recouped with the low sales volume. That situation, combined with the death in 1967 of the Amphicar's most important supporter, Harold Quandt, led to the cessation of production in 1968.

Amphicar Specifications:

Engine: Triumph Herald 1,147cc, in-line four-cylinder
Output: 43hp @ 4,750 rpm, 61-lbs.-ft torque @ 2,250 rpm
Body: Five-passenger all-steel convertible
Wheelbase: 82.7 inches
Track F/R: 47.3/49.2 inches
Length: 170.3 inches
Height: 59.8 inches
Width: 60.3 inches
Weight: (curb) 2,312 pounds
Transmission: All-synchromesh four-speed manual transaxle with single-speed water drive
Steering: worm and roller, 2.2 turns lock-to-lock
Suspension, front: Coil-sprung independent with trailing arms and hydraulic shock absorbers
Suspension, rear: Coil-sprung independent with trailing arms and hydraulic shock absorbers