Amphicar Owners Group

The Amphicar is still the only amphibious automobile ever mass-produced for sale to the public. The German vehicle was designed by Hanns Trippel and manufactured by the Quandt Group at Lübeck and at Berlin-Borsigwalde, its name is a portmanteau of "amphibious" and "car".The powerplant was the 1147 cc (69 in³) engine from the British Triumph Herald 1200 introduced by the new owners Leyland Motors Ltd. Many engines were tried in prototypes but the Triumph engine was "state of the art" in 1961 and had the necessary combination of performance, weight, cool running and reliability. Updated versions of this engine remained in production in the Triumph Spitfire until 1980. The Amphicar engine had a power output of 43 hp (32 kW) at 4750 rpm. Called the "Model 770", the Amphicar could achieve speeds of 7 knots in the water and 70 mph (113 km/h) on land. Later versions of the engine displaced 1300cc and 1500cc and produced up to 75bhp. Some Amphicar owners have fitted these engines to improve performance.

One owner was quoted "It's not a good car and it's not a good boat, but it does just fine." largely because of modest performance in and out of water[2]. Another added "We like to think of it as the fastest car on the water and fastest boat on the road."

In water as well as on land, the Amphicar steered with the front wheels making it less maneuverable than a conventional boat.[3]