Sea-Bug
Australia · Car
| Also known as | Sea Bug, VW Sea Bug |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Type | Car |
| Status | One-off |
| Use | Civilian |
Specifications need checking. Some figures here were taken from the archive and have not been confirmed against a source.
The Sea-Bug was an amphibious Volkswagen Beetle from Australia, photographed in Queensland around 1990, when it attracted a good deal of attention in local news reports.
Bass Strait attempt
Its best-known exploit was an attempt to drive across Bass Strait. A man who took part recalled on an Australian VW forum that the television stations covering the attempt, which were also paying for the support boat, insisted on a fixed departure date and threatened to withdraw if it was postponed, so the car set off in very rough weather. His post ends with the words "RIP sea bug", suggesting the car was lost to the sea. A magazine cutting in the folder, headed "Scuttle bugged again!", reports that the Marine Board stopped a planned crossing by the 'unsinkable' Sea-Bug and names its driver as Paul Greene.
The same contributor described trips around Sydney Harbour and Pittwater in it. Another correspondent believed the car later crossed the English Channel, but this is not confirmed and may be a confusion with a British amphibious Beetle also pictured in the folder.
2 Photographs
5 photographs in the archive folder. Click any image to view it full size.
3 Related vehicles
Compare the Sea-Bug with another vehicle.
Know more about the Sea-Bug, or spotted a mistake? Email a correction or suggestion.