1964 Amphicar 770 BOAT CAR, Totally RESTORED SWIMMER, Full Frame off RESTORATION. Price $ 48,500 Firm Call (717)-801-0352 Call for a test drive and to swim this Beauty.
The Amphicar was built in Germany from 1961 to 1968. Total production was 3,878 vehicles. The Amphicar is the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass produced. 3,046 Amphicars were imported into the United States between 1961 and 1967. The Amphicar is rear engined and uses a 4 cylinder British-built Triumph Herald motor producing 43hp. All Amphicars are convertibles, and the civilian models were originally offered in only 4 colors, Beach White, Regatta Red, Lagoon Blue and Fjord Green (Aqua).
The backbone of the Amphicar's electrics is basically a Lucas 12 volt positive ground system with certain items such as the horn, lighting and switches made by other manufacturers such as Hella and Bosch.
The Amphicar has a top speed of 7mph on water and 70mph on land. Hence, it was dubbed the "Model 770". The Amphicar is moved in the water by its twin nylon propellers. A special two-part land-and-water transmission built by Hermes (makers of the Porsche transmission) allows the wheels and propellers to be operated either independently or simultaneously. The "land transmission" is a 4-speed-plus-reverse unit similar to those found in the old Volkswagen Beetles. The "water transmission" is a 2-speed offering unique to the Amphicar featuring single forward and reverse gears. In the water, the front wheels act as rudders.
When new the Amphicar sold for between $2,800 and $3,300, depending on the year. Later model years actually sold for less than those of early years. No 1968 model year Amphicars were directly imported into the USA. This was because of the U.S. Government's EPA and DOT regulations that went into effect beginning with 1968 model year vehicles. This caused a major financial disaster for the Amphicar Corporation since the USA represented about 90% of all Amphicar sales. The Amphicar factory in Berlin, Germany closed for good in 1968, and the remaining inventory of unused parts was eventually purchased by Hugh Gordon of Sante Fe Springs, California. Hugh's Gordon Imports remains the Amphicar owner's primary source for spare parts.
There are several other excellent sites on the 'Net about the History and Design of the Amphicar, including David Chapman's Wonderful World Of Amphicars and Mike Israel's Amphicar Harbor (and anybody interested in possibly purchasing an Amphicar should definitely memorize Mike's Amphicar Buyer's FAQ).
Classic & Sports Car magazine (September 2000) said that “Proper sea dogs say amphibians make dreadful boats and even worse cars” —and there’s no doubt the inherent compromises create flawed vehicles. Darryl Goble of Stratford owns right hand drive Amphicar No 1, and he doesn’t disagree with C&SC — he doesn’t care, either.
Number one
Darryl’s fascination with Amphicars goes back to the ‘60s, when he pored over The Observer’s Book of Automobiles and other car books of his boyhood — ¨although, when an Amphicar came up for sale in New Zealand in 1987, he resisted temptation, knowing he couldn’t afford to buy. To his surprise, it appeared on the market again in 1994 just 30km from his home.
After paying ‘too much’ Darryl transported the ‘Amphi’ home and inspected his sad-looking purchase. He contacted the International Amphicar Club’s registrar of right-hand-drive models, which was excited and intrigued that the first right-hand-drive Amphicar — identified from the number 200001 stamped on the rear bulkhead — had surfaced in the Antipodes.
Pain in the pocket
The long and painful process of a complete restoration began. The time span was just over eight years, and the pain was felt in Darryl’s pocket. For about six of the eight years the Amphicar was a part-time project at Douglas Panel & Paint, east of Stratford, where Brendon Old exercised his impressive skills on rebuilding and painting the body (hull?).
Darryl showed me ‘before’ and ‘during’ photographs of the car and, as usual with restorations, the ‘before’ appearance belied the extent of the work involved. Brendon’s skilful handling of what was clearly a huge task on an unknown vehicle is a monument to his abilities. New parts were purchased from Hugh Gordon of Sante Fe Springs, California. Hugh’s company, Gordon Imports, bought the entire stock of parts when Amphicar went under, so if you want Amphicar parts, you buy from this company at its prices. The good news was that all manner of unique or difficult to reproduce parts are available. Eight years of dedication were finally rewarded by the launching of the Amphicar late in 2004. Understandably, Darryl backed the car into the water for the first time with a rope attached to another vehicle. To his great pleasure and relief, not a drop of water found its way into the cabin and the car behaved exactly as intended. In fact it significantly exceeded his expectations.
Road & water test
Central Taranaki is blessed with numerous boating lakes, making it an ideal place to test an Amphicar. Darryl and I picked a weekday afternoon, to reduce the likelihood of sharing a lake with other (proper) boats. Even so, the arrival of his ‘14-foot runabout’ drew a small, curious crowd. Their reactions were the same as the hundreds who inspected the Amphi at the 2005 Ellerslie Car Show on Concours Sunday — bemusement followed by delight.
Darryl had already carried out some of the pre-launch procedures, including making sure the bilge plug was in place. All that remained was to firmly engage the extra lock at the bottom of each door, and drive down the boat ramp. I had read about the weird experience of entering the water in an Amphicar for the first time, but like the birth of your first child, no amount of theory prepares you for the real thing. It seems somehow unnatural to drive down a boat ramp into a lake, and just keep going.
On dry land I tended to see it more as a boat than a car. Out on the water I couldn’t shake the idea we were in a car. There were all the sensations of boating — floating, listing to the outside of a corner, looking out the side window at the bow wave and to the rear at a rooster tail of water. And yet these sensations were confused by the familiar surroundings of a car. Less boat-like was its steadiness in the water — it didn’t rock or feel unstable, which may have added to the conflicting messages. The experience was not quite one thing or the other, which I guess accurately reflects its amphibious character. Now, I like boats about as much as a Green politician likes huge American pick-up trucks, but sailing in the Amphi is my kind of boating. I was still in a car, and I didn’t get wet.
Gone sailin’
The C&SC test included a ‘boat race’ between an Amphicar and a ‘90s Dutton Marriner. Not surprisingly, the jet-propelled Dutton left the Amphicar floundering with its greater manoeuvrability. What did surprise, though, was that the older car showed a clean pair of propellers to the Dutton. Thanks to its superior acceleration, the Amphicar won by a nautical mile.
The Amphicar was known as the Model 770 because of its top speed of seven-mph (11kph) on water and 70mph (113kph) on land. Neither compares with the Gibbs Aquada. Mind you, the Aquada’s 48kph in the water and 160kph on land comes with a $200,000-plus price tag, and it doesn’t have doors.
Not having seen a Dutton or an Aquada, I can’t compare, but Darryl’s Amphicar demonstrated a reasonable turn of speed and acceleration on the water. It also appeared more manoeuvrable than I expected with just its front wheels for rudders. As Darryl had only launched it once before, I doubt he would claim the skipper’s skills made it look easy. The lake we chose is divided in two by a road, so the transport stage from one half to the other gave a brief chance to assess the Amphicar’s road-ability. Again, its acceleration was surprisingly good, and its ride was agreeable. To be fair, the drive was too short to see whether its cornering ability reflected its ‘tiptoe’ appearance, and Darryl’s car is fitted with a 1296cc Triumph engine, a common conversion that gives a Amphi more urge and overcomes the difficulty of finding a 1147cc unit. He commented that the car becomes ‘a bit teetery’ at about 97kph.
Notable throughout the day was the instant starting and smooth running of the Triumph Herald engine. Probably because of different exhaust plumbing, it sounded louder and more muscular than your average Herald. Darryl attributed the engine’s impeccable behaviour to the perfectionist approach of a retired local mechanic, Brian Hewson, who spent countless hours helping Darryl restore the car — or perhaps it was the other way around. Either way, Brian’s endless patience and previous experience with restoring Heralds were invaluable, as was his readiness to attack any problem. Of the ‘someone made it so we can fix it’ school, nothing seemed to stump Brian, including features he’d never seen before such as the bilge pump.
Hans Trippel’s schwimmwagen
The Amphicar was the brainchild of Hans Trippel, and the last of a line that started with his first schwimmwagen in 1932. His third attempt, in 1938 — the SG6 — was the first ‘production’ amphibious car. A military SG6 appeared in 1939. Limited production of the SG6 started in 1942, but the pre-Volkswagen and Porsche versions were both lighter and cheaper. Porsche had purchased a Trippel for evaluation, so he obviously learned from what he saw.
In 1943 Trippel changed tack with a streamlined amphibious sedan fitted with an aeroplane propeller at the rear. He re-surfaced in 1958 with his new amphibious car, the Alligator. Looking much like the Amphicar, it was Austin-powered but the steering wheel was located in the centre of the dashboard like the Aquada. Harald Quandt, the wealthy industrialist and financier who saved BMW from oblivion, was sufficiently interested in the Alligator to finance its successor. Trippel wanted to use the VW engine and platform as the basis of the Amphicar, but he was aiming for the US market, where safety regulations prohibited air-cooled marine engines. The Mercedes 190 engine was too heavy, and the BMC 1100 was underpowered. The Triumph Herald engine was chosen with reluctance, because of its known overheating and carburetion problems. However, it was both available and attractively priced.
Project costs spiralled, so price became the overriding criterion when sourcing other components as well. Many were obsolete lines bought at bargain prices. As a consequence, Amphicars were fitted with metric and SAE nuts and bolts — yes, on the same car! Engine ancillaries, taillights and indicators came from England; the steel bodies, instruments, switches and other electrical fittings and chassis components from Germany. The nylon propellers were sourced from Denmark, and the sealed beam headlights from the USA. The 6.4×13 wide whitewall tyres originated variously from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
The special seafaring transfer gearbox was an Amphicar design built by Hermes, the maker of Porsche gearboxes. By all accounts the unit was trouble-free, although both propellers turned in a clockwise direction. This meant the Amphicar tended to veer to the right on water, and there was no funding to re-engineer it. Not so reliable were the rear axle bearing seals. The factory specified re-packing of the seals after every 10 hours of swimming, but it soon proved to be required more frequently. Needless to say, most owners didn’t bother, with disastrous results. Equally harmful were the effects of salt water on Amphicars used in the sea — before long it was hard to find one not seriously ravaged by rust. The Amphicar was equipped with several unique features for its double life. An electric bilge pump could pump six gallons per minute. The starter system included a two-minute delay, giving a fan time to extract fumes that may have built up in the engine bay. This US Coast Guard requirement could be overridden on land via a hidden switch, and was not fitted to right-hand-drive models. A foghorn and navigation light were standard fittings.
Amphicar production was complicated by the fact that they were built in two factories, in Lubeck, West Germany and Borsig, East Berlin. Just 35 cars were built in 1960, and the survivors are highly prized by Amphicar enthusiasts. A minor facelift in 1965 consisted of a black dashboard, chromed quarter light surrounds and a protruding lip along the lower edges of the body.
Mad dogs and Englishmen
A crossing of the English Channel in 1965 dramatically silenced doubts about the AmphicarÃs seaworthiness. This Boy’s Own adventure, reported in a typically laconic English way, has been reproduced at www.Amphicars.com — Captains Tappenden and Bailey battled force five to six winds and rough seas for seven hours and 20 minutes.
The intrepid Amphicar skippers found it was better to motor up the wave with the accelerator full down, and when the top of the wave was reached to slacken off and gently motor down the other side. This was not always possible because currents at times tended to come from the side; the only way to combat this was to put the foot down hard and motor through the top of the wave, clinging grimly to the steering wheel and watching the compass for direction.
In contrast, Sir Richard Branson took an Aquada across the Channel in 2004 in a record-breaking one hour 40 minutes.
Over the years Amphicars found their way to most points of the compass. One was swamped at Jakarta and another run down by a freighter off Gibraltar. Happily, most of their adventures were less traumatic. According to Special Interest Autos (December 1981), Ray Bowe won a promotional race down the Hudson River before driving to Florida in his Amphicar. After collecting a new one in Florida, he toured the Everglades and headed north again. This time he sailed up the Hudson River and kept going, through barge canals and Lake Champlain to Montreal. SIA also reported that Nick Rausch and Ivan Stewart sailed an Amphicar down the Yukon River, dodging icebergs as they went.
Scuppered
By 1967 the US’ ever more stringent safety and anti-pollution requirements spelled the end. The last Amphicars were built in 1968. Ironically, just three months later, Avanti was granted an exemption from the new requirements based on its small production numbers, and the exemption was extended to any manufacturer of less than 500 units per year. It was too late to rescue the Amphicar. Harald Quandt had died in a plane crash, and his family wasnÃt interested in keeping the loss-making venture afloat.
The number of Amphicars built is arguable, but the total seems to have been almost 3800. Of those, only 98 were right hand drive. About 90% of the total production was shipped to the United States. In a further irony, 1967 was its best sales year in that market.
What of the future, now Darryl’s Amphicar is completed and road-legal? He’s not sure at this stage, but he has a real soft spot for his amphibious orphan and will display it in classic car shows. He could equally enter it in boat shows, which brings to mind Woody Allen’s comment that being bi-sexual means you’re never without a date on a Saturday night. Darryl would very much like to trace its history, to discover how the first right-hand-drive Amphicar arrived in New Zealand a few months and 1400 miles (2253km) after it was first registered in Germany.
Fish or fowl? Car or boat? It’s neither and it’s both; a duckling that can’t swim like a fish. In the end it doesn’t matter anyway — the Amphicar is a unique and cute piece of automotive history.
1964 Amphicar 770 – Specifications
Engine ¨four cylinder in line, overhead valve (Triumph Herald)
Capacity 1147cc (original engine)
Bore/stroke 69x76mm
Comp ratio 8:1
Max power 32kW (43bhp) at 4750rpm
Max torque 83Nm (61lb/ft) at 2250rpm
Fuel system ¨single Solex carburettor (10.5gallon, or 47.7l, tank)
Transmission ¨four-speed manual, floor change, marine transfer box
Axle ratio 4.72:1
Body/chassis ¨two door, four seat convertible, all steel body
Brakes ¨308mm (12-inch) drums front and rear, non-power assisted
Front suspension ¨coil springs and trailing arms
Rear suspension ¨coil springs and trailing arms
Steering worm and roller
Tyres 6.40×13-inch cross ply
Dimensions:
O/all length 4367mm (170.3in)
Width 1546mm (60.3in)
Height 1538mm (60in)
Wheelbase 2121mm (82.7in)
Track F/R ¨1213/ 1262mm¨ (47.3/49.2in )
Kerb weight 1040kg (2293lb)
Performance:
Max speed ¨113kpph (70mph) on land, 11kph (7mph) on water
Fuel consumption ¨11.2l/100km (25mpg) on land, 5.5 litres (1.2 gallons) per hr on water
Production ¨approx 3800, 98 in right hand drive
Classic & Sports Car magazine (September 2000) said that “Proper sea dogs say amphibians make dreadful boats and even worse cars” —and there’s no doubt the inherent compromises create flawed vehicles. Darryl Goble of Stratford owns right hand drive Amphicar No 1, and he doesn’t disagree with C&SC — he doesn’t care, either.
Number one
Darryl’s fascination with Amphicars goes back to the ‘60s, when he pored over The Observer’s Book of Automobiles and other car books of his boyhood — ¨although, when an Amphicar came up for sale in New Zealand in 1987, he resisted temptation, knowing he couldn’t afford to buy. To his surprise, it appeared on the market again in 1994 just 30km from his home.
After paying ‘too much’ Darryl transported the ‘Amphi’ home and inspected his sad-looking purchase. He contacted the International Amphicar Club’s registrar of right-hand-drive models, which was excited and intrigued that the first right-hand-drive Amphicar — identified from the number 200001 stamped on the rear bulkhead — had surfaced in the Antipodes.
Pain in the pocket
The long and painful process of a complete restoration began. The time span was just over eight years, and the pain was felt in Darryl’s pocket. For about six of the eight years the Amphicar was a part-time project at Douglas Panel & Paint, east of Stratford, where Brendon Old exercised his impressive skills on rebuilding and painting the body (hull?).
Darryl showed me ‘before’ and ‘during’ photographs of the car and, as usual with restorations, the ‘before’ appearance belied the extent of the work involved. Brendon’s skilful handling of what was clearly a huge task on an unknown vehicle is a monument to his abilities. New parts were purchased from Hugh Gordon of Sante Fe Springs, California. Hugh’s company, Gordon Imports, bought the entire stock of parts when Amphicar went under, so if you want Amphicar parts, you buy from this company at its prices. The good news was that all manner of unique or difficult to reproduce parts are available. Eight years of dedication were finally rewarded by the launching of the Amphicar late in 2004. Understandably, Darryl backed the car into the water for the first time with a rope attached to another vehicle. To his great pleasure and relief, not a drop of water found its way into the cabin and the car behaved exactly as intended. In fact it significantly exceeded his expectations.
Road & water test
Central Taranaki is blessed with numerous boating lakes, making it an ideal place to test an Amphicar. Darryl and I picked a weekday afternoon, to reduce the likelihood of sharing a lake with other (proper) boats. Even so, the arrival of his ‘14-foot runabout’ drew a small, curious crowd. Their reactions were the same as the hundreds who inspected the Amphi at the 2005 Ellerslie Car Show on Concours Sunday — bemusement followed by delight.
Darryl had already carried out some of the pre-launch procedures, including making sure the bilge plug was in place. All that remained was to firmly engage the extra lock at the bottom of each door, and drive down the boat ramp. I had read about the weird experience of entering the water in an Amphicar for the first time, but like the birth of your first child, no amount of theory prepares you for the real thing. It seems somehow unnatural to drive down a boat ramp into a lake, and just keep going.
On dry land I tended to see it more as a boat than a car. Out on the water I couldn’t shake the idea we were in a car. There were all the sensations of boating — floating, listing to the outside of a corner, looking out the side window at the bow wave and to the rear at a rooster tail of water. And yet these sensations were confused by the familiar surroundings of a car. Less boat-like was its steadiness in the water — it didn’t rock or feel unstable, which may have added to the conflicting messages. The experience was not quite one thing or the other, which I guess accurately reflects its amphibious character. Now, I like boats about as much as a Green politician likes huge American pick-up trucks, but sailing in the Amphi is my kind of boating. I was still in a car, and I didn’t get wet.
Gone sailin’
The C&SC test included a ‘boat race’ between an Amphicar and a ‘90s Dutton Marriner. Not surprisingly, the jet-propelled Dutton left the Amphicar floundering with its greater manoeuvrability. What did surprise, though, was that the older car showed a clean pair of propellers to the Dutton. Thanks to its superior acceleration, the Amphicar won by a nautical mile.
The Amphicar was known as the Model 770 because of its top speed of seven-mph (11kph) on water and 70mph (113kph) on land. Neither compares with the Gibbs Aquada. Mind you, the Aquada’s 48kph in the water and 160kph on land comes with a $200,000-plus price tag, and it doesn’t have doors.
Not having seen a Dutton or an Aquada, I can’t compare, but Darryl’s Amphicar demonstrated a reasonable turn of speed and acceleration on the water. It also appeared more manoeuvrable than I expected with just its front wheels for rudders. As Darryl had only launched it once before, I doubt he would claim the skipper’s skills made it look easy. The lake we chose is divided in two by a road, so the transport stage from one half to the other gave a brief chance to assess the Amphicar’s road-ability. Again, its acceleration was surprisingly good, and its ride was agreeable. To be fair, the drive was too short to see whether its cornering ability reflected its ‘tiptoe’ appearance, and Darryl’s car is fitted with a 1296cc Triumph engine, a common conversion that gives a Amphi more urge and overcomes the difficulty of finding a 1147cc unit. He commented that the car becomes ‘a bit teetery’ at about 97kph.
Notable throughout the day was the instant starting and smooth running of the Triumph Herald engine. Probably because of different exhaust plumbing, it sounded louder and more muscular than your average Herald. Darryl attributed the engine’s impeccable behaviour to the perfectionist approach of a retired local mechanic, Brian Hewson, who spent countless hours helping Darryl restore the car — or perhaps it was the other way around. Either way, Brian’s endless patience and previous experience with restoring Heralds were invaluable, as was his readiness to attack any problem. Of the ‘someone made it so we can fix it’ school, nothing seemed to stump Brian, including features he’d never seen before such as the bilge pump.
Hans Trippel’s schwimmwagen
The Amphicar was the brainchild of Hans Trippel, and the last of a line that started with his first schwimmwagen in 1932. His third attempt, in 1938 — the SG6 — was the first ‘production’ amphibious car. A military SG6 appeared in 1939. Limited production of the SG6 started in 1942, but the pre-Volkswagen and Porsche versions were both lighter and cheaper. Porsche had purchased a Trippel for evaluation, so he obviously learned from what he saw.
In 1943 Trippel changed tack with a streamlined amphibious sedan fitted with an aeroplane propeller at the rear. He re-surfaced in 1958 with his new amphibious car, the Alligator. Looking much like the Amphicar, it was Austin-powered but the steering wheel was located in the centre of the dashboard like the Aquada. Harald Quandt, the wealthy industrialist and financier who saved BMW from oblivion, was sufficiently interested in the Alligator to finance its successor. Trippel wanted to use the VW engine and platform as the basis of the Amphicar, but he was aiming for the US market, where safety regulations prohibited air-cooled marine engines. The Mercedes 190 engine was too heavy, and the BMC 1100 was underpowered. The Triumph Herald engine was chosen with reluctance, because of its known overheating and carburetion problems. However, it was both available and attractively priced.
Project costs spiralled, so price became the overriding criterion when sourcing other components as well. Many were obsolete lines bought at bargain prices. As a consequence, Amphicars were fitted with metric and SAE nuts and bolts — yes, on the same car! Engine ancillaries, taillights and indicators came from England; the steel bodies, instruments, switches and other electrical fittings and chassis components from Germany. The nylon propellers were sourced from Denmark, and the sealed beam headlights from the USA. The 6.4×13 wide whitewall tyres originated variously from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
The special seafaring transfer gearbox was an Amphicar design built by Hermes, the maker of Porsche gearboxes. By all accounts the unit was trouble-free, although both propellers turned in a clockwise direction. This meant the Amphicar tended to veer to the right on water, and there was no funding to re-engineer it. Not so reliable were the rear axle bearing seals. The factory specified re-packing of the seals after every 10 hours of swimming, but it soon proved to be required more frequently. Needless to say, most owners didn’t bother, with disastrous results. Equally harmful were the effects of salt water on Amphicars used in the sea — before long it was hard to find one not seriously ravaged by rust. The Amphicar was equipped with several unique features for its double life. An electric bilge pump could pump six gallons per minute. The starter system included a two-minute delay, giving a fan time to extract fumes that may have built up in the engine bay. This US Coast Guard requirement could be overridden on land via a hidden switch, and was not fitted to right-hand-drive models. A foghorn and navigation light were standard fittings.
Amphicar production was complicated by the fact that they were built in two factories, in Lubeck, West Germany and Borsig, East Berlin. Just 35 cars were built in 1960, and the survivors are highly prized by Amphicar enthusiasts. A minor facelift in 1965 consisted of a black dashboard, chromed quarter light surrounds and a protruding lip along the lower edges of the body.
Mad dogs and Englishmen
A crossing of the English Channel in 1965 dramatically silenced doubts about the AmphicarÃs seaworthiness. This Boy’s Own adventure, reported in a typically laconic English way, has been reproduced at www.Amphicars.com — Captains Tappenden and Bailey battled force five to six winds and rough seas for seven hours and 20 minutes.
The intrepid Amphicar skippers found it was better to motor up the wave with the accelerator full down, and when the top of the wave was reached to slacken off and gently motor down the other side. This was not always possible because currents at times tended to come from the side; the only way to combat this was to put the foot down hard and motor through the top of the wave, clinging grimly to the steering wheel and watching the compass for direction.
In contrast, Sir Richard Branson took an Aquada across the Channel in 2004 in a record-breaking one hour 40 minutes.
Over the years Amphicars found their way to most points of the compass. One was swamped at Jakarta and another run down by a freighter off Gibraltar. Happily, most of their adventures were less traumatic. According to Special Interest Autos (December 1981), Ray Bowe won a promotional race down the Hudson River before driving to Florida in his Amphicar. After collecting a new one in Florida, he toured the Everglades and headed north again. This time he sailed up the Hudson River and kept going, through barge canals and Lake Champlain to Montreal. SIA also reported that Nick Rausch and Ivan Stewart sailed an Amphicar down the Yukon River, dodging icebergs as they went.
Scuppered
By 1967 the US’ ever more stringent safety and anti-pollution requirements spelled the end. The last Amphicars were built in 1968. Ironically, just three months later, Avanti was granted an exemption from the new requirements based on its small production numbers, and the exemption was extended to any manufacturer of less than 500 units per year. It was too late to rescue the Amphicar. Harald Quandt had died in a plane crash, and his family wasnÃt interested in keeping the loss-making venture afloat.
The number of Amphicars built is arguable, but the total seems to have been almost 3800. Of those, only 98 were right hand drive. About 90% of the total production was shipped to the United States. In a further irony, 1967 was its best sales year in that market.
What of the future, now Darryl’s Amphicar is completed and road-legal? He’s not sure at this stage, but he has a real soft spot for his amphibious orphan and will display it in classic car shows. He could equally enter it in boat shows, which brings to mind Woody Allen’s comment that being bi-sexual means you’re never without a date on a Saturday night. Darryl would very much like to trace its history, to discover how the first right-hand-drive Amphicar arrived in New Zealand a few months and 1400 miles (2253km) after it was first registered in Germany.
Fish or fowl? Car or boat? It’s neither and it’s both; a duckling that can’t swim like a fish. In the end it doesn’t matter anyway — the Amphicar is a unique and cute piece of automotive history.
1964 Amphicar 770 – Specifications
Engine ¨four cylinder in line, overhead valve (Triumph Herald)
Capacity 1147cc (original engine)
Bore/stroke 69x76mm
Comp ratio 8:1
Max power 32kW (43bhp) at 4750rpm
Max torque 83Nm (61lb/ft) at 2250rpm
Fuel system ¨single Solex carburettor (10.5gallon, or 47.7l, tank)
Transmission ¨four-speed manual, floor change, marine transfer box
Axle ratio 4.72:1
Body/chassis ¨two door, four seat convertible, all steel body
Brakes ¨308mm (12-inch) drums front and rear, non-power assisted
Front suspension ¨coil springs and trailing arms
Rear suspension ¨coil springs and trailing arms
Steering worm and roller
Tyres 6.40×13-inch cross ply
Dimensions:
O/all length 4367mm (170.3in)
Width 1546mm (60.3in)
Height 1538mm (60in)
Wheelbase 2121mm (82.7in)
Track F/R ¨1213/ 1262mm¨ (47.3/49.2in )
Kerb weight 1040kg (2293lb)
Performance:
Max speed ¨113kpph (70mph) on land, 11kph (7mph) on water
Fuel consumption ¨11.2l/100km (25mpg) on land, 5.5 litres (1.2 gallons) per hr on water
Production ¨approx 3800, 98 in right hand drive
I recently came across an article written by an Amphicar sales agent about 30 years ago. It is called "60 REASONS WHY I LIKE THE AMPHICAR". Some of the reasons are a bit suspect.
1. "Road clearance, 2 inches greater than a Jeep, make it an ideal off-road vehicle; a low first gear also contributes to its off-road capabilities"
2. "Rear engined traction for "go" in mud and snow"
3. "Handles well even on windy days"
4. "Steering is as easy-turning as power steering, 2.5 turns lock to lock"
5. "The tyres are even more oversize than other imported cars, tyre life approaching 100,000 miles should not be difficult"
6. "Excellent, easy shifting 4-speed transmission made by the makers of the world renowned Porsche transmission"
7. "Trunk space is roomy for a rear engined car"
8. "The car has a turning circle of 36feet for "U turn ability""
9. "Much hand craftsmanship goes into the manufacture of the Amphicar"
10. "The car is truly fabulous in the water and remarkably stable even in 58mph winds on large waters"
11. "It takes 18 steps to have a day of boating the conventional way but only 3 steps the Amphicar way"
12. "Because the Amphicar is an enclosed car one can go boating in complete comfort 9 or more months per year"
13. "One must have a large and expensive boat to get the luxury interior features of the Amphicar"
14. "Are you splurging when you buy an Amphicar ? When one looks over the oversize quality features of the Amphicar one quickly realises the answer is "no". The car will save the owner at least $2000 in 10 years, or if the savings are banked in advance, $2800. It literally pays for itself !"
15. "Oversize cooling system"
16. "Oversize oil capacity, plus sports car oil cooler"
17. "Oversize brakes with special waterproof linings"
18. "Oversize horsepower/displacement ratio for longer engine life. Large 70 cu. in. displacement for its 43 hp output size"
19. "The Amphicar delivers the fuel economy of a Volkswagen"
20. "Interior is roomy with more stretch-out legroom than that of a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Imperial"
21. "The body is the same thickness as the bumpers on many cars; steel heavier than 18 gauge is used, compared to 20-21 gauge on conventional cars"
22. "Road salt will have a hard time rusting the double-heavy steel body through. The smooth fender wells and underside have no pockets where salt can accumulate"
23. "The car is like one big bumper guard so it offers maximum safety in a collision"
24. "Two exclusive door latches on each door instead of just one contribute to it's land and water safety"
25. "Unitised body with enclosed frame for safety and freedom from rattles"
26. "Gas tank location in rear of trunk is much safer than on other rear engined cars"
27. "The engine stays new-car clean as it is in an enclosed compartment"
28. "With no grille to clean a car wash takes less time"
29. "The entire interior including the upholstery is of waterproof washable material"
30. "The upholstery in an imported car is usually of much heavier material than in a US car as the average owner keeps his car longer overseas"
31. "No danger of poisonous exhaust fumes entering the passenger compartment as the entire system is in the engine compartment and not under the passenger compartment floor"
32. "The muffler should last longer as it is above the engine and cannot be harmed by road salt, dampness, or stones"
33. "The car steering tie rods are protected by a steel plate"
34. "Pleasing styling without annual styling changes; present styling has been used over 5 years"
35. "As bug free as can be - in production for over 5 years, plus many years of pre-production testing"
36. "Four Fender visibility from drivers seat for easy manoeuvring in congested places"
37. "Completely flat floor, door to door. No transmission or driveshaft hump
38. "The conveniently sized car, just 170 inches long"
39. "Top quality 4 coat marine paint finish"
40. "Numerous extras at no extra cost such as white walls, reversing lights, clock and reclining seats"
41. "Comparably equipped, cost suprisingly little more than a Volkswagen convertible"
42. "Bumpers look ridiculous but aren't. They match the US bumper heights perfectly front and rear. Bumper guards are available"
43. "Ultra-safe as a boat with stability in high winds and waves"
44. "A high capacity bilge pump and bilge blower are standard"
45. "Navigation lights front and rear"
46. "Marine horn on hood"
47. "Double seals and double door locks on doors give added water safety"
48. "Has four wheel independent coil spring suspension system"
49. "A great economy car; when one adds up all the "oversize" features ranging from gasoline economy to body durability"
50. "Triumph Herald Engine. An overly durable engine which was used in the Triumph Sedan. Made by Standard Triumph of England, makers of engines for European industrial and automotive use. A Triumph engine to be used in Swedish SAAB soon. Standard Triumph sells more sports cars than an other company in the world."
51. "The Amphicar has ample reserve speed above legal speed limits"
52. "Reading about Amphicar owners is like reading a "who's who" list. President Johnson has owned 2 Amphicars; his press secretary Salanger also owns one"
53. "Unlicensed children can drive the Amphicar - in water that is !"
54. "Nationwide service network. Increased in size by 123% last year. In addition 570 Triumph dealers can service the car"
55. "The Amphicar is no more expensive to maintain than an ordinary economy car when used on land, and slight more when used on water"
56. "The Amphicar corporation is a sound company. It owns much of Mercedes Benz, even Mercedes Benz hub caps fit the Amphicar perfectly"
57. "The car is guaranteed fully whether used in fresh or salt water, it has a 6 month or 6000 mile warranty"
58. "Low licence plate fees"
59. "Large 13 gallon fuel tank means fewer stops for gasoline, gives an 80 mile range on water"
60. "Amphicar costs less than a boat.."
Yesterday's Flops, Today's Collectibles
By Claire Martin of MSN Autos
One lesson that came out of product launches like New Coke and the Sony Betamax is that too much hype can be a bad thing. The auto industry has had its fair share of flops over the years — cars that didn't live up to the expectations, gained infamy for abysmal sales or performance, or were just plain weird. But those cars didn't disappear from the roads. Many have achieved cult status and become collector's items, sought after by car enthusiasts for their rarity. "Enthusiasts measure success differently," explains McKeel Hagerty, founder and CEO of Hagerty Insurance, which specializes in collector vehicles. "They'll find some odd-duck car that no one has and they want it." Here are the top 10 most coveted car flops.
Amphicar
If you want to put a smile on the face of a kid or a car collector, put him in an Amphicar and drive down a boat ramp. A German-made creation from the 1960s, the Amphicar was built under the premise that there was an untapped market for a car that could function like a boat. "Unfortunately for the Amphicar, it wasn't a good car and it wasn't a good boat," Hagerty says. Choppy conditions or more than about 6 inches of water proved disastrous for the Amphicar. Only 3,878 were built, and they now can fetch up to $56,000.
1965 Amphicar needs restored $4,500
1962 Amphicar 770 For Sale
