The Amphicar was a revolutionary automobile design that could be driven on both land and water. The principle of the Amphicar was a self-supporting, floating body design. The Amphicar front wheels acted as twin rudders, for fast, responsive handling in the water. The Amphicar, offered water tight doors with double-locks and double seals. The upholstery and floor mats were soil-resistant and waterproofed as well.
The Amphicar could travel at 32mpg on land and use about 2 gallons per hour on the water. With financial backing from the same organization that controlled BMW, the Amphicar was designed with standard and specialty automotive parts from Germany, Italy, Holland and Great Britain and other European countries. This gave the Amphicar design the distinction of being one of the first "world" cars.
Amphicar production totals were approximately 4000 models that were built and it is estimated that only 900 still remained today. The Amphicar were offered in four standard colors, Regatta red, Fjord green, Lagoon blue and Beach white.
The Amphicar made its world debut at the International Automobile Show. Amphicar models sold for $3400 dollars, which at the time seemed to be a very costly price for the consumer in 1961, and with poor sales and relatively high manufacturing cost resulted in the termination during the 1968 model year, that all Amphicar models be discontinued. The Amphicar was truly a design only an enthusiast could love, due largely to the compromises of being both a car and boat.
A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for donating his story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Photographs courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection. For further information contact Robert Tate at btate@motorcities.org
If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at: lambriez@motorcities.org