Terra-Jet

The Terra-Jet is a small amphibious all-terrain utility vehicle that was first manufactured in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, from 1969. In July 1994 Terra-Jet U.S.A., a division of Rabalais & Son Terra-Jet Enterprise of Innis, Louisiana, bought the engineering rights, inventory and tooling from Quebec in order to build the vehicle in Louisiana.

Design

The Terra-Jet has a watertight tub with a glassfibre body that lifts off. Body styles varied. Most were square, military-looking utility bodies, but a rarer sporty body was styled rather like a late-1960s Corvette. Power came from air-cooled snowmobile-type engines. Archive examples had a Kohler 399 cc single and an Arctic Cat two-cylinder two-stroke, with a centrifugal clutch and a forward/reverse transmission. Drive to all four wheels is full-time, by chain, with self-locking Positrac differentials. It is driven like a car with an automatic gearbox.

A German dealer stressed the vehicle's year-round usefulness. The air-cooled engine does not freeze, a pull-starter works even with a flat battery, ground clearance is 23 cm, and ground pressure is very low. There are two full seats and an emergency seat over a toolbox, with seat belts and a roll bar. In the water the Terra-Jet moves by turning its tyres alone, at about 10 km/h. A six-wheeled version was also made, and many were fitted with snow ploughs.