What drives like a car, cruises like a boat, but does neither all that well? If you looked at the title of this factoid, you probably were able to guess correctly "the Amphicar."
The Amphicar Model 770 was a German-made vehicle marketed between 1961 and 1968. Only 3,878 were manufactured. It was a convertible automobile powered by a mighty Triumph 1147 cc, 43 bhp 4-cylinder engine (the engine displacement was eventually modestly increased, yielding 75 bhp). However, unlike other convertibles, you could drive the car straight into the water, engage two propellers in the rear, and use it as a boat.
Performance as a car was lackadaisical, with a top speed of 70 MPH. The speed as a boat was a leisurely 7 knots. The steering in the boat was not very responsive, as the front wheels served as the only rudder. As a watercraft, it was subject to additional legal requirements such as having registration numbers painted on the side and Coast Guard mandated lights and flags. After each session in the drink, the vehicle required the the greasing at 13 different points and the removal of the rear seat to be able to access all of them.
Why would anyone buy such a contraption? Well, duh, because they were fun! And probably no one had more fun with an Amphicar than President Lyndon Johnson. Johnson loved to take unsuspecting dignitaries for a ride in the car at his ranch, approach a curve by a lake, yell "Oh #%^&, the brakes are gone!" and then go plummeting into the water while his guests screamed in horror.
Those who are currently blessed by possessing an Amphicar can attend "swim-ins" held throughout the warmer months at various locations in the USA. If you want the Amphicar experience without the headaches of owning and maintaining one, Walt Disney Springs in Orlando will provide you and two others in your group with a ride in a modified version for $125.
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| I, Dontworry, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons |
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