Surf’n’turf – the 5 coolest amphibious cars

Some people are never satisfied. While most prospective car buyers are fine with a car that can just drive on the road — and some off —  there are some drivers who want to go even further.

It is those demanding customers that have led to some companies introducing cars that can handle both the land and the sea.

We’ve rounded up five of the coolest amphibious cars here.

Rinspeed sQuba

If you’re bored of the land, there’s a chance you might also be bored of the sea – the surface of it, that is. That’s where this comes in…

This is the sQuba, a Lotus Elise-based project from the automotive madmen at Rinspeed. Introduced in 2008, the sQuba can do what James Bond’s Lotus Esprit from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ never achieved: actual underwater ability.

The concept never became a purchasable reality, likely because the type of customer who would consider investing in a swimming Lotus saw their bank account float down a creek with no paddle upon the looming recession.

Amphicar

As far as amphibious cars go, it’s fair to say that the Amphicar Model 770 is the most iconic example of the breed.

With a surprisingly high production run of nearly 4,000 cars being produced between 1960-1965, your opinion likely depends on whether you see it as quirky 60’s madness or a vehicle that fails as both a boat and a car.

With a 1147cc Triumph four-cylinder engine producing a meagre 38bhp, it wasn’t exactly the last word in dynamic breadth of ability. It also had a maximum speed of 6mph on the water, while construction from rust-prone steel quickly killed most models. The few survivors command impressive prices.

VW Schwimmwagen

The Schwimmwagen was used extensively in military exercises during WWII and was built in droves. 14,000 were produced between 1942 and 1944.

In the water, a propeller could be lowered, allowing for forward propulsion once you were door handle deep in the wet stuff. ‘Reversing’ was handled by an oar.

Astonishingly, less than 200 of these Beetle-based, nautical people’s cars remain today.

Gibbs Aquada

The Gibbs Aquada looks rather like a Mazda MX-5, but don’t be fooled, it shares nothing with the Japanese sportscar bar the front headlights.

The Aquada is powered by a mid-rear mounted 2.5-Litre Rover V6 with 175bhp. By all accounts, the car actually a rather impressive achievement, having proven its boating capabilities with a record-setting, sub-2 hour channel crossing in the hands of Sir Richard Branson.

In addition, the motoring press that drove it when it was the new hot thing in 2004 all seemed to agree that it actually did a good job as a sports car, too.

Rinspeed Splash

Another offering from those mad geniuses at Rinspeed, the Splash doesn’t really float on the water – rather, it flies on top of it. The unconventional-looking Splash can operate at low speeds as a normal boat, but its true remit is as a hydrofoil.

Once in the water, foils deploy at the front and rear and a propeller drops down. If the driver then gives it a bit of welly, the Splash elevates itself out of the water and ‘flies’ above the surface.

Thanks to a 750cc engine from a snowmobile producing 140bhp, the Splash is actually no slouch on the road – its lightweight construction means it can hit 60mph in less than six seconds. It can even run on clean-burning natural gas. Why isn’t everybody driving these things?