1964 Amphicar 770 Convertible

This Amphicar is painted Fjord Green with a white convertible top and an Apricot interior. Currently, it has about 6,000 original miles from new and the current owner is currently the fourth caretaker. It is powered by its original engine with a rebuilt transmission. Under the hood are the original spare tire, convertible boot, and original tool kit.

The Amphicar had a Lucas 12-volt positive ground system which powered the horn, lighting, and switches made by other manufacturers such as Hella and Bosch. The Amphicar was capable of achieving 7 mph on the water and 70 mph on the land (hence, it was called the Model 770). The Amphicar moved in the water with 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 4-speed (plus reverse) 'land transmission' was similar to those found in the Volkswagen Beetle. The 2-speed 'water transmission' featured single forward and reverse gears. In the water, the front wheels acted as rudders.

The Amphicar was built in Germany from 1961 to 1968. Total production was 3,878 vehicles. It is the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass-produced, with 3,046 imported into the United States between 1961 and 1967.

When new, the Amphicar sold for between $2,800 and $3,300, depending on the year (the cars actually sold for less than those of early years). For 1968, no Amphicars were directly imported into the United States due to U.S. Government's EPA and DOT regulations that went into effect beginning with 1968 model year vehicles. Since the US market represented about 90% of Amphicar sales, this caused a major financial disaster for the Amphicar Corporation, causing the factory in Berlin, Germany to close for good in 1968.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2015