00:00 It's a car that you drive down the road. The fun part comes when you come to the water,
00:08 drive in and then off you go down the river. It's one of the best feelings you could ever
00:13 have.
00:22 Kent in England is home to a car that's as happy on the water as it is on the road.
00:28 I'm Kerry Cheese and this is my 1964 Amphi car.
00:32 I found the vehicle in Canada on eBay. It was up for silly money. I contacted the seller.
00:38 We just got talking on the phone and he accepted my offer.
00:43 I restore military vehicles for a living. I have restored a couple of Amphi cars anyway
00:47 so I had a fairly sound knowledge of what I was doing.
00:51 When I received the Amphi car it didn't really need too much work. It needed more mechanical
00:56 and body work. It took me about three to four months getting it all ready for a boat safety
01:00 scheme, basically a boat MOT for the river. And getting extra bilge pumps and making sure
01:06 things were safe and it was water tight.
01:11 Probably cost start to finish around 32 to 35 thousand which was a reasonable price for
01:20 one of these vehicles.
01:25 Less than 4,000 Amphi cars were built in West Germany in the 60s. Five feet high, 14
01:31 feet long and weighing 2,315 pounds. This vehicle is powered by a Triumph engine.
01:37 It is an everyday car on the road. From inside you wouldn't even know you were in a boat.
01:44 It is very comfortable. It's quite easy to drive. You've got to remember everything
01:48 just take a bit slower. You're not rushing through the gears. I have had it to 70 but
01:53 cruising 65 is usually ok. The brakes are only as good as the effort you put into them.
01:59 You're back in the 60s with their technology.
02:08 Basically it's a car that you drive down the road. The fun part comes when you come to
02:12 the water, drive in, engage the prop shaft at the back and then off you go down the river.
02:19 There is a second lock on the doors and it's just pull them up otherwise the water comes
02:25 pouring in. I've forgotten it once. The water does come in but luckily it wasn't too fast.
02:33 There's only one thing left for it now. Let's take it in the water.
03:02 It's easy, relaxing. It's one of the best feelings you could ever have.
03:07 With a top speed of 8mph on the water it won't break any speed records but it does turn a
03:13 few heads.
03:14 The people in boats all wave to you. They all smile. Everyone takes photos. Everyone
03:19 seems to recognise that it's a car and can't believe what they're seeing. The one thing
03:23 you do have to remember is that you can't use your brake pedal on water. It operates
03:27 the lights and stops the wheels spinning in the water but that's all it'll do. It's great.
03:34 Just makes a great day out.
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