Amphibious cars are a fad that rises and falls like the tide, and in the early 2000s, the Hydrocar was the amphibious car of the moment. Now it's scheduled to cross the block at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas, scheduled for June 17-19.
The Hydrocar took 10 years to build, according to the listing, and made a big splash (pun intended) when it was finally completed. It appeared on the cover of the January 2004 issue of Popular Mechanics, and was also featured in Forbes. It was the brainchild of hot rodder Rick Dobbertin, who also built an amphibious vehicle dubbed the Surface Orbiter out of a milk tanker.
Power comes from a 572-cubic inch Chevrolet V-8 crate motor, tuned to produce 762 hp and 712 lb-ft of torque. The big V-8 is connected to a PATC Quadzilla 4L80Z 4-speed automatic transmission.
Hydrocar (Photo by Barrett-Jackson)
Looking like a cross between a supercar and a Cigarette boat, the Hydrocar has a stainless-steel spaceframe chassis, with aluminum skin. On land, it rides on a pneumatic suspension.
A trailer is also included with the sale. That indicates this unusual vehicle might be more boat than car. It's also worth noting that, in a 2018 auction, the Hydrocar was listed as being for display only.
Alternatively, there are plenty of options for having a matching set of vehicles for land and sea. A Lamborghini-inspired yacht was unveiled last year, while Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing have partnered for years on a series of boats inspired by the automaker's cars. You'll need both a garage and a dock but, given the dubious record of amphibious cars, it's probably best to have both options.