Oz Amphibian Platypus

The Platypus was an amphibious 4x4 built in China on a Beijing jeep chassis and sold in Australia by Oz Amphibian, the Australian and New Zealand agent for the Chinese makers of the Baiyun and the Isuzu amphi-pickup. The first example was exported to Australia at the beginning of 2003.

Design

Apart from the frame and suspension, everything was re-engineered. The redesigned stainless-steel hull has solid sides, with gull-wing doors in the roof for use in rough water. Power comes from a 2.8-litre Isuzu turbo diesel and its gearbox, and there are disc brakes all round taken from the Jeep Cherokee, as well as air conditioning and power steering. In the water a propeller driven from a power take-off gives about 10.3 km/h, with five forward speeds and reverse afloat. It was offered with left- or right-hand drive.

History

The Australian agent reported that off-road testing had gone very well and that the vehicle was going through approval for registration on Australian roads, with production of 100 or more expected by the end of the year.