This is a 1963 Amphicar Model 770, it remains the most successful amphibious production car of all time with 3,878 made, however far fewer than this number have survived to the modern day.
As you can see from the images, this particular Amphicar requires a full restoration. The good news is that the body is complete and comes in a full primer coat, it also comes with the correct four-cylinder engine, two-part Hermes transmission, glass, and much of the interior.
Fast Facts – The Amphicar Model 770
- Produced from 1960 to 1965, the Amphicar 770 was the most successful amphibious production car, with 3,878 units built in total. Designed by German engineer Hans Trippel, it featured a Triumph engine, twin propellers, and front wheels that acted as rudders, allowing seamless transition between land and water.
- President Lyndon B. Johnson famously owned an Amphicar at his Texas ranch. He would trick guests by pretending the brakes had failed as he drove into a lake, only to engage the propellers and navigate the water, laughing as his terrified passengers regained their composure.
- Hans Trippel, like Ferdinand Porsche, worked with the Nazi regime before and during WWII, later serving time in a French prison. Despite this dark past, he pioneered amphibious car designs, eventually creating the Amphicar, which became a cultural icon known for its fun and carefree appeal.
- A 1963 Amphicar Model 770 requiring full restoration is for sale in Utica, Michigan. It includes a primed body, correct engine, two-part Hermes transmission, and various interior components. Despite their rarity due to rust having claimed many of them, Amphicars have a strong collector community dedicated to preserving these unique vehicles.
The Amphicar 770 And President Lyndon B. Johnson
The most famous story you’ll hear about the Amphicar is that President Lyndon B. Johnson owned one. He kept it on his ranch in Johnson City, Texas and he used to delight in taking guests on tours of the property in the car with the top down.
President Lyndon B. Johnson driving an Amphicar, April 10, 1965. Image courtesy of the LBJ Presidential Library.
Ever the practical joker, President Johnson’s favorite trick was to drive the car into his lake while yelling about the brakes having failed, as his guests riding in the car with him screamed for their lives.
Once in the water he would engage the propellers and drive the Amphicar through the water laughing heartily as his passengers tried to collect their wits.
Hans Trippel
Hans Trippel was to the Amphicar what Ferdinand Porsche was to the Beetle, a free-thinking engineer who created a vehicle that would endure as a pop culture icon for many years after their own respective deaths.
The similarities between Trippel and Porsche are more than skin deep, both men worked closely with the Nazi Party, both also worked closely with Adolf Hitler before and during WWII, and both spent time in French prisons for their work with the Nazis in the years after the war ended.
Despite the darkness that may surround the origins of the Beetle and the Amphicar, both vehicles went on to become symbols of fun, freedom, and adventure – remaining just as popular today as they were all those decades ago.
This is an undated picture of Hans Trippel with his most famous invention – the Amphicar Model 770. Image courtesy of the Amphicar Owners’ Club.
Trippel first wanted to be a racing driver, as did countless other young men in the 1920s and 1930s, but his racing career seems to have been somewhat short-lived, in fact no discoverable public records exist of his competition entries.
By the mid-1930s Trippel began to experiment with amphibious car design, it would be a fascination that would stay with him for the rest of his life, and lead him into some dark places, though it would also see him become the designer of the most mass-produced amphibious car in history.
The Most Successful Amphibious Production Car Ever
Building cars that double as boats isn’t a new idea, but is an idea that had struggled to find its feet. Much like flying cars, amphibious cars have been plagued by difficulties and engineering challenges, not the least of which is that cars don’t make very good boats, and boats don’t make very good cars.
The Amphicar 770 was designed by German engineer Hans Trippel, taking some inspiration from the WWII-era Volkswagen Schwimmwagen – an earlier example of a successful amphibious vehicle.
Trippel was careful to avoid unnecessary complexity in his design, the same engine was used for driving the wheels and twin propellers, the front wheels act as rudders, and the engine was a mass-produced unit from Triumph.
Although the body is in primer to preserve it, it’s clear that some rust remediation work remains. The good news is that once it’s finished in a modern epoxy paint, it’ll be far more rustproof than the original.
The car has a body made from stamped steel panels and it was only ever offered as a cabriolet (convertible).
The engine is installed in the rear and it has a special gearbox that allows it to drive only the rear wheels, only the twin propellers, or both together allowing the car to be driven in and out of the water on a typical boat ramp.
The Amphicar would remain in production from 1960 to 1965, however the company was still selling them in 1968 when it closed down. Of the 3,878 that were made many have survived thanks to the committed nature of the car’s enthusiasts.
The 1963 Amphicar Project Car Shown Here
This is a 1963 Amphicar Model 770 that is currently a stalled restoration. The body has been given a coat of primer to preserve it, and it comes with many of the parts required to finish the job, including the engine, two-part Hermes transmission, interior components including seats, glass, gauges, and more.
Most of the parts needed to finish the car are part of the sale, including the engine, two-part Hermes transmission, interior components including seats, glass, gauges, and more.
No one knows exactly how many Amphicars remain, though it seems most have succumbed to rust and neglect, making them relatively rare today. That said, there is a thriving collector community around them, helping owners with maintenance, spare parts, restorations, and advice.
This Amphicar project is now being offered for sale out of Utica, Michigan on Bring a Trailer with no reserve, and a clean Michigan title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
