The amphibian car of the sixties, an Amphicar Model 770, built in West Germany for USA, is for sale now in Portugal

In the 1960s, when humanity set out on a technological advance with giant steps in conquering the Moon and its own planet, the idea of ​​amphibious cars seemed like a very attractive prospect. Amphibious cars appeared in movies, in books, in magazines, and many were convinced that it was only a matter of time until we would reach high-performance cars that could walk, float and possibly even fly. And Amphicar Model 770 is one of the most interesting of them.

The car was created by German designer Hans Trippel, who had worked on several amphibious vehicles since 1932, including the creation of the vehicle used in World War II, the Volkswagen Schwimmerwagen. Amphicar, however, was a purely civilian creation, created on the wave of peaceful progress in the 50s, being presented at an auto show in Germany in 1959 and in New York in 1961.

The prototype had been presented in Germany, and the production-ready version had already arrived in the USA, financed by the American Quandt Group, which had invested an enormous amount for that period, 25 million dollars, in the development of this model. Production would take place in West Germany.

The car had thus been designed to comply with the boating standards stipulated by the US Coast Guard, with correct warning lights and a flag. And the US authorities really recognized her as a boat and she had the right to sail just like other small yachts.

The car had a specific shape of the lower part, to be able to advance correctly in the water and to ensure buoyancy on the water. The ground clearance was quite high, being calculated so that the car could go out on its own wheels when it reached the shore.

At the back, the Amphicar 770 had two propellers with which it ensured its propulsion in the water. Turning the wheel braked one of the propellers, and due to the differential effect, more power went to the second and the car thus had steering in the water as well.

The Amphicar 770 had a rear-mounted engine from the British manufacturer Triumph, considered very advanced at the time. It was a 4-cylinder 1,147 cc engine, present on the Triumph Herald 1200 model, developing 43 hp on the Amphicar, with one horse-power more due to the short exhaust.

The engine sent its torque to the rear wheels via a 4-speed gearbox, but there was also an additional lever for engaging the propellers. Normally when the car entered the water the normal gear lever was left in neutral and the other gear was engaged, and when exiting the water the normal gear could be engaged in 1st or 2nd gear as the car approached the shore and the engine it sent power to both the propellers and the wheels, thus making the car not lose speed and smoothly emerge from the water.

Amphicar Model 770 could reach 7 knots of speed in water and 70 miles per hour on land, that is about 110 km/h, hence the name 770.

Well, sales were not as high as expected. Investors expected sales of 25,000 cars. In the entire career of the Amphicar Model 770, however, only 3,878 units were produced and sold, most of them in the USA. Such an amphibious vehicle cost more than a Ford Mustang back then, so it's clear that more people preferred to buy the popular muscle car, instead of a too-calm-looking European swimming car.

However, being so few produced, today they are highly sought after collector's items, and the example in the images of this article is located in Portugal, it was manufactured in 1962, and has been completely restored. It has a stinging price of almost 78,000 dollars! Few would dare to spend that kind of money on it, but the nice part is that the car can still float on the water today, so it's like buying a classic car and a classic yacht in one vehicle!