Remember playing GTA Vice City and typing in that cheat code which made cars drive on water? Many fans vividly do. Back then, it seemed quite astonishing and unreal. However, today such technology is gaining popularity in certain sectors. That’s because adventure enthusiasts, tourism firms, and others are buying amphibious vehicles capable of crossing land as well as water effectively.
These ingenious rides come in various shapes and sizes. From amphibious motorcycles to buses, there’s a good variety of ways to travel on solid ground and water. In other words, these vehicles can carry anywhere from a couple to a dozen passengers.
While these versatile vehicles sound great, they look even better doing what they do the best. So, here’s a video showing some of the world’s most amazing amphibious automobiles.
5 Incredible amphibious vehicles
1. HafenCity RiverBus
This amphibious bus called HafenCity RiverBus is owned by a namesake German travel agency. It’s built upon the Hungarian-made Swimbus and combines the best of a coach and a boat. When it comes to passenger capacity, it can house 47 people (including 2 or 3 crew members). Furthermore, the vehicle can cruise on land and water at max speeds of 65kmph (40.3mph) and 13kmph (8mph), respectively.
2. WaterCar Panther
This amphibious 4×4 from WaterCar is one of the fastest in the market. This minitruck can switch from land mode to water mode in just 15-20 seconds. Its latest avatar, the H1-Panther, is a heavily modified Humvee that can brave the roughest terrains and the deepest waters. It can achieve highway max speed on land and get 64.8kmph (40.2mph). Besides this, there’s a fire rescue variant that meets various firefighting standards.
3. Rinspeed sQuba
No, this car isn’t drowning but making its way underwater like a submarine. The Rinspeed sQuba is an amphibious sports car inspired by the 1977 Bond flick, The Spy Who Loved Me. It incorporates the base of a Lotus Espirit, over which the Swiss firm has built a fully electric vehicle. Impressively, the car can go to depths of 10m (33ft) below the water surface. On land, its speed reaches 120kmph (75mph), whereas, on water, it touches 3kmph (1.9mph).
4. Biski
The Biski, from Gibbs Amphibians, is a single-seat amphibious motorcycle. It’s the smallest yet most advanced vehicle offered by Gibbs. The two-wheeler can transition into water mode in less than 5 seconds. Coming to the max speed, this metric on land goes up to 128.7mph (80mph) and, on water, goes as high as 59.5mph (37mph).
5. UHAC
The acronym UHAC stands for Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector. It’s an amphibious vehicle from the engineers at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab and the Office of Naval Research. Essentially, its purpose is to transport personnel, vehicles, and military equipment. Interestingly, it can store heavy payloads of up to 190 tons and still reach speeds of about 37kmph (22.9mph).
That wraps up our list of some uber-cool amphibious vehicles. Among them, which one did you like the most? Tell us in the comments. While you are here, check out the world’s most extreme watercraft.
