Aquastrada

The Aquastrada was an amphibious car-boat prototype shown to the press near Chicago in 1995 by Aquastrada International Corp.

Design

Its designers argued that earlier amphibians failed because they started from a car or truck and tried to make it float, so they began with a boat and added wheels. The patented layout had front wheels that tucked into the hull and sealed it, and rear wheels that retracted into a sealed pocket at the stern. A converted truck engine running on unleaded petrol provided power, and the driver used the same controls on land and on water.

The company claimed that a production version would exceed 225 km/h (140 mph) on land and 95 km/h (60 mph) on water, but the prototype was far slower; its chief engineer admitted it 'just barely planes', having been built to prove the concepts rather than for performance.

History

During a demonstration for CNN the rear wheels locked and the craft had to be refloated by hand, and its battery needed a jump start. The backers saw a market among water-skiers, motor-home owners and yacht owners wanting a landing craft, and expected a price of about $50,000, but the design still had to meet federal road, boating and emissions rules before it could be sold.