Amphibian Cars
The journey of the car began in Naples, Italy where Prince Raimondo Di Sangro first introduced the concept of a vehicle that could travel both on land and on water. It was a carriage with wooden horses pulling it over the land and water, through some internal mechanism. A barge designed by Oliver Evans, in the United States, was the first self-propelled and steam driven amphibian vehicle. It was a crude attempt. The 'car' could only just paddle through water and travel at a meager 2mph speed on land. However, this event was a significant boost, at least for the development of the modern-day automobile. There has been a significant improvement in the journey of the car from that day onwards. All land and water transport, from an amphibious bicycle to a big hovercraft is classified under amphibious vehicles.
The Amphibious Drive
The name, 'amphibious car' comes in name and theory from the amphibians, who prowl the land and also swim the waters on earth. Perhaps the adaptability of these creatures would have infused the idea of a machine which could travel on land and water with equal ease. The early decades of the 20th century, witnessed a serious global effort to develop the amphibian car. But these efforts were limited towards developing a recreational model, rather than a purpose oriented machine. The rich and famous people of the world bought it as a sheer addition to their luxury requirements. The serious use of the amphibian car is usually made for military activities, in emergency transport where bridges or roads are not built and the search and rescue missions at inaccessible places.
Evolution of The Amphibian Car
The first 'amphicar' was manufactured in Berlin, Germany during the 1960s. The buyers were mostly from the US with a certain sparse number distributed over Europe. The amphicar was the only non-military amphibious vehicle until the 1990s. It could reach a speed of 70mph on road and travel at 8 knots in water. This water-tight model was a combination of different resources of many companies. Its employee base was largely from Borgward, the fuel systems from Porsche and the braking and suspension systems, courtesy Mercedes. The Hollywood films, 'Pontiac Moon', 'The President's Analyst' and 'Sandwich Man' featured this beautiful car in all its glory. Sadly, it went out of production on 1996. As of today, there are a lot of amphibious cars in production in different countries of the world.
The United States created the 'Hydra Water Car' which is essentially a sports car design. It incorporates a Corvette fuel engine with a flotation foam. Another design, the 'Spyder', consists of a body like that of Camaro convertible of 2002, a 300 hp, 2.5 liter turbo-charged engine. The Chinese are not far behind with a series of jeep like amphibious cars such as the JMC BY5020TSL, BJ5032(XZHE) and BJ5032 models. These vehicles are a fascinating addition to the tourism potential of these countries, and the Chinese model is in fact eco-friendly and a water-conservative design. British engineering has produced the 'Aquada Sports Amphibian' which can reach a speed of 100mph on land and 30mph on water. Gibbs Technologies, the company which designed the car says that it takes about 10 seconds for the car wheels to retract and the boat power to switch on for land to water transition. The James Bond-style vehicle had a price tag of 150,000 pounds in the market. It made international headlines in 2004, when the owner of Virgin group, Richard Branson crossed the English Channel in 1 hour 40 minutes in an Aquada.
The durable and the beautiful 'Water Car' claims to be the fastest car in the world, clocking a speed of 125 miles per hour on land and 40 mph on water. The body is styled on the 2002 Camaro version , featuring a 300 horsepower engine, Rancho type 1-4 speed manual transmission and hydraulically pull-up wheels to convert from land use to a high speed bottom for water. The drive can be controlled in water by a Berkley 12JE adjustable place diverting jet drive. It has a special feature of a centrally mounted ski pole for skiing and wake boarding.
Simply changing a switch can maneuver your ride from the streets to the lake. The amphibian car is a completely licensed and legal drive for those with valid licenses for driving and boating. So if you desire to go zooming past the roads and the next second take a water ride, an amphibious car is just what you are looking for!
