00:00It's a car that you drive down the road. The fun part comes when you come to the water,
00:08drive in and then off you go down the river. It's one of the best feelings you could ever
00:13have.
00:22Kent in England is home to a car that's as happy on the water as it is on the road.
00:28I'm Kerry Cheese and this is my 1964 Amphicar. I found the vehicle in Canada on eBay. It
00:35was up for silly money. I contacted the seller. We just got talking on the phone and he accepted
00:40my offer. I restore military vehicles for a living. I have restored a couple of Amphicars
00:47anyway so I had a fairly sound knowledge of what I was doing. When I received the Amphicar
00:52it didn't really need too much work. It needed more mechanical than body work. It took me
00:57about three to four months getting it all ready for a boat safety scheme, basically
01:01a boat MOT for the river. And getting extra bilge pumps and making sure things were safe
01:07and it was water tight. Probably cost start to finish around 32,000 to 35,000 which was
01:19a reasonable price for one of these vehicles.
01:25Less than 4,000 Amphicars were built in West Germany in the 60s. Five feet high, 14 feet
01:31long and weighing 2,315 pounds, this vehicle is powered by a Triumph engine.
01:37It is an everyday car on the road. From inside you wouldn't even know you were in a boat.
01:44It is very comfortable. It's quite easy to drive. You've got to remember everything,
01:49just take a bit slower. You're not rushing through the gears. I have had it to 70 but
01:53cruising 65 is usually OK. The brakes are only as good as the effort you put into them.
01:59You're back in the 60s with their technology.
02:07Basically it's a car that you drive down the road. The fun part comes when you come to
02:12the water, drive in, engage the prop shaft at the back and then off you go down the river.
02:20There's a second lock on the doors and it's just pull them up otherwise the water comes pouring in.
02:27I've forgotten it once. The water does come in but luckily it wasn't too fast.
02:32There's only one thing left for it now. Let's take it in the water.
02:38It's easy, relaxing. It's one of the best feelings you could ever have.
02:46With a top speed of 8mph on the water, it won't break any speed records but it does turn a few heads.
02:53The people in boats all wave to you. They all smile. Everyone takes photos.
02:58Everyone seems to recognise that it's a car and can't believe what they're seeing.
03:02It's easy, relaxing. It's one of the best feelings you could ever have.
03:06With a top speed of 8mph on the water, it won't break any speed records but it does turn a few heads.
03:13The people in boats all wave to you. They all smile. Everyone takes photos.
03:18Everyone seems to recognise that it's a car and can't believe what they're seeing.
03:23The one thing you do have to remember is that you can't use your brake pedal on water.
03:27It operates the lights and stops the wheels spinning in the water but that's all it'll do.
03:33It's great. It just makes a great day out.
Comments