The person who developed the Amphicar was a German named Hanns Trippel. He had worked on the development of amphibious vehicles all his life. The first saw the light of day as early as 1934. Then several vehicles were made for use by the defense in Germany.
An inventive engineer
When Trippel was to start construction and production of cars after the war in 1949, there was more focus on ordinary cars. He showed off a brand new car with doors that flipped open. The solution was patented by Trippel. Similar doors were used on the Mercedes 300 SL "Goldwing" from 1954. Trippel also designed a number of small cars. Patents and rights were sold to several manufacturers who wanted to put new car models into production. The Norwegian car Troll was also initially based on a Triple construction.
Created for the leisure market
But none of the new designs were a success, so Trippel chose to return to his great passion, which was amphibious vehicles. The result was the Amphicar. When the prototype was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1959, it was quite a sensation. A stylish combination of car and boat was something that should appeal to several buying groups. The manufacturer had the large leisure market in mind when the plans were made. It was known that the main market would be the United States, where people had both money and free time. But Europe was also a possible market according to the manufacturer.
Got to try it out in a Norwegian mountain home
It was put into series production in 1961 and was produced until 1968. Total production was only about 4000 cars in total. Most of the cars were sold in the USA, but some were also sold here in Norway. It was shown at the car exhibition at Sjølyst in 1964. It can also be mentioned that Aftenposten had a test of the Amphicar at Hardangervidda where it was tested both on the terrain and in some fishing lakes with good results. The Amphicar was a relatively expensive car. Price in Norway in 1964 was NOK 26 (Triumph Herald with the same engine cost NOK 000)
Key data Amphicar
Length: 428 cm
Width: 156 cm
Height: 148 cm
Engine: 1147 ccm, 43 hp
Top speed: 120 km/h
See
Anders de Lange
Anders de Lange writes about car history. He has written about cars and car history for over 30 years, published his own books and written for the Norwegian car press.
Aftenposten caught several trout in Skarvsvannet after an arduous trip from the Solheimstulen tourist cabin. The expedition must be described as pure "galimatias". The then seconded journalist Einar Fr. Nagell-Erichsen concluded that "-We had a feeling of driving in something that represented the future and can only regret that the manufacturer has not found it possible to make the wagon with four-wheel drive." The year was 1963.