German Car Spotting: Using An Amphicar The Wrong Way

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While David is in Germany he made a sacred promise to me on the eternally-glowing brake rotor that powers all of the Autopian: to send me any pics of interesting cars he sees while he’s over there, explaining to his mother that it’s really not all that weird that he’s pals with/started a business with a guy 20 years older than him. He started off with a great one: these pictures of an Amphicar 770 being towed by what would be a pretty unlikely tow vehicle here in America, a 2010-ish Mercedes-Benz CLS. But here’s the thing: whoever owns this lovely Amphicar seems to be doing it wrong.

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The problem isn’t with the Amphicar 770 itself: it appears to be in fantastic shape, and I think the blacked-out chrome look is actually really working for this, and is a look I’ve not seen on an Amphicar before, which tend to play up the car’s kitch value with all the chrome. The blacked-out trim here makes the car feel purposeful and a touch more aggressive, which, when added to a car that’s already pretty cute, results in a fantastic look for a car: plucky.

But what’s wrong here is that if in fact this Amphicar is capable of being driven, it should be driven to whatever water it’s likely being taken to, because that is the entire point of an amphibious car: you don’t need to trailer it! It’s not a boat! It’s absolutely capable of being driven on land, and then plunging into the water with the confident aplomb of a porpoise! That’s the magic of the car!

Sure, maybe you won’t enjoy the comforts of a Mercedes-Benz on the way, but that’s not the point! You can deal with a bit of discomfort if it means knowing that you’re using one of the only cars in the world capable of this very specific achievement to its fullest! A car you can drive on the autobahn, and then leap into the sea! Or lake or river or estuary or whatever!

Sure, the little 1148cc Triumph engine only made about 43 horsepower, but that was enough to get the little boat-car to 70 mph, which is adequate for autobahn travel, at least in the slow lane. They could have done it, is all I’m saying.

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From the rear, that Amphicar looks like it’s looking right at David, locking headlight-eyes with him, peering deep into his soul. It also looks a bit angled on that trailer, doesn’t it? That all looks a bit wonky. Still, I do love European trailer taillights. Look at that nice combination of triangles and squares!

Hopefully we’ll get more good car spotting pics from David soon, so stay tuned!

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44 thoughts on “German Car Spotting: Using An Amphicar The Wrong Way”

  1. Doesn’t the Amphicar even have its own hitch? Throw the CLS on the trailer and see just how plucky the Amphicar is!

    I mean, not on the Autobahn, but in a pinch, side roads would probably work?

    2. Or the owner is bringing home their new Amphicar and trailering it because they drove the Mercedes there already and the Amphicar isn’t registered yet. Also this is Germany, right? Who knows if the Amphicar even passes TUV, they might not be able to legally drive it until it gets further repairs.

        1. Zooming in I believe it says 04-10 so April to October. Pretty sure on the 04 but don’t quote me on the 10.

          Also the distance from Würzburg to Schweinfurt (SW on the plate) is maybe 40 kilometers, so yeah maybe towing wasn’t strictly necessary in this case. Assuming that’s the whole trip, maybe they’re just returning from the Portuguese coast I guess.

    1. I was about to say—aren’t these kind of tough to keep afloat, too? Like, it could be on a trailer for the obvious reasons (sinks, doesn’t run, ???, Karlsruhe gave me a speeding ticket once and I haven’t forgiven the entire city since).

      I still want an Amphicar really, really badly, though. Really, really, really badly. Give me the Amphicar.

      2. I still think someone should manufacture reproduction Amphicars (a la Peel P50 and Trident), but made out of fiberglass like a proper small boat, and of course with a more modern drivetrain – nothing crazy, just a wee bit more power and reliability, I’m thinking something along the lines of a turbocharged Kei car engine.

        In most places as long as you build less than 500 a year, it should be plenty legal. And I’m sure 500 people somewhere would love to own a less troublesome Amphicar every year.

  7. if we’re replacing amphibians with mammals now, i’d replace porpoise with otter. the image of a porpoise thrashing through the grass, trying to return to the water is just a little too on the nose. cute little otter brings a little disneyfication.

    1. Two straps, left rear and right front, probably so the car’s diagonal distance will span the rails better as I suggested below. My guess is that the two unsecured wheels are only on the very edge of being supported, but it’s better to have it this way than the alternative of two on the same side being on edge.

      1. Having been there involved in trailering many old tiny European cars, can confirm that “wide ramp stance” can be a definite issue that needs to be dealt with.

  10. “Explaining to his mother that it’s really not all that weird that he’s pals with/started a business with a guy” that documented his chainsaw assault&battery.

    1. Back in the day when cars had proper steel frames they were usually good for 3-5 thousand lbs of towed goodness. depending of course on how good of a welder Uncle Frank was at the time.

      1. I love it, and that last picture is exactly what I mean. How and why have we convinced ourselves that we need these moronically huge vehicles to pull an aluminum boat or pop-up camper somewhere?

        My Focus ST has a factory tow rating of 0lbs. You’re telling me it’s such a fragile car that the engine, transmission, and brakes will all explode if I pull anything heavier than a bike rack? It’s nonsense!

        2. I just went see tow ratings for a fiesta ST on ford.fr (I’m french) and it’s rated for 1600kg. I think it’s because of regulations more than capacity

      2. While my fleet is not that “unique”, I do put a trailer hitch on EVERYTHING! I have a homemade 6×10 utility trailer (used to be a pop-up camper) that has been behind an Aspire, Escort, Focus, Taurus, Mustang, Windstar and Ranger. It has a KS “under 2000” tag, but has been well over that a few times. None of my vehicles complained (much). I do use the bigger vehicles when I pull the other pop-up (the one we still camp in), but that’s usually highway miles, so more power helps!

    3. American tow ratings are much stricter. Which may just be a product of Americans much more likely to have big truck to tow with in the first place (or even just the big heavy land yahcts when the regulations were being made.) States generally don’t have a trailer speed limit though, whereas Europeans do.

      1. This seems to be a cultural thing
        North American tow ratings seem to be given with the idea that the driver can disregard the fact they are towing and carry on at any speed, with the trailer loaded however it falls. This leads to low tow ratings and excessively long drawbars.
        Other places expect the driver to use some disgression and often have lower open-road speed limits.

        1. At least in my state the rule of thumb for pulling trailers is that you have to go 5-10 mph slower than the speed limit. I think everyone here hates people with trailers as a result, but at least it maybe makes the road safer?

    4. There are regulations on towing weights in the UK, but I’ve never met anyone who knew them. The general attitude is as long as you can get up the hills on your journey, then that’s sufficient towing capacity.
      The US fixation on towing capacity does seem slightly weird to me. Especially in a country where every vehicle is powered by a massive V8.

    5. Because it’s more profitable to sell trucks and SUVs with current emissions regulations. Automakers thus want to encourage more people to buy trucks and SUVs, so they come up with excuses for why you need one and market the crap out of it. Therefore, the public has been led to believe that they need trucks and SUVs for towing, because that’s what the automakers told them, and normies who know nothing about cars can’t think for themselves so they don’t question it.

  14. “It also looks a bit angled on that trailer, doesn’t it?”

    The car appears to be held in place with one strap around the right front tire and one around the left rear tire, so my guess is this is a solution to the problem of narrow older cars not fitting properly on the widely-spaced rails of modern rental trailers. I’ve been in a similar situation but haven’t had to resort to quite this approach.

      1. I prefer the stance my state seems to take. Old Car? Meh, its likely going to kill you anyway, so why bother wasting time and money pretending it can be “safer”

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