Some Saturdays we can’t decide whether to go for a drive or go boating on the lake. Apparently Hans Trippel, the German designer behind the Mercedes Gullwing door, had the same dilemma in the late 1950s. He penned the Amphicar, the first and last mass produced civilian amphibious car, in 1960 and by 1961 Quandt Group started manufacturing the Amphicar. This Amphicar 770 is currently listed on eBay for a BIN of $45,995.

The Amphicar could solve our Saturday dilemmas forever, as we could go for a drive to the lake. Once we arrived we could just drive right into the water and go boating. We aren’t too sure whether we would trust the Amphicar to stay afloat, but this particular model year had the most safety features of all the Amphicars. This included a bilge blower, manual bilge blower, on board bilge pump, no glare dash, and Spark arrestor on the carburetor. The seller claims this car is free of rust and in original condition. We would definitely spend some time checking the floors for rust before we would take it out to the lake, there’s nothing worse than sinking your boat and your car at the same time.

The Amphicar was a truly ingenious design that allowed the car to achieve 70 mph on the road and 8 knots on the water. The vehicle is powered by a Triumph Herald 1200 that produces a modest 40 hp. The engine is mounted in the back and is attached to a VW four-speed transmission for the road and a Hermes two-speed transmission for the water.

This Amphicar is really in beautiful condition inside and out. These cars were built of steel and most owners took them into the water regularly, so most of the 4000 or so produced have rusted out. We would comb over this car really well before we took it to the lake, but on the road it should be fine. The $46k price is right on target for current market value, but we would try making an offer to see if we could land it a little cheaper.