07 Mar 08
Fiat Panda Terramare
Fiat Panda Terramare
Heard the one about the swimming Panda?
Italian engineer Maurizio Zanisi, formerly of Iso Rivolta, took a standard Panda 4x4 and added an inflatable flotation belt and water-jet propulsion from the rear axle. He tested his car, dubbed Panda Terramare 4, in Lake Como and Lake Maggiore in Italy, and in the Mediterranean off Sardinia, and then took VIP guests at a Fiat party in Battersea Park for joy-rides up the River Thames.
The Panda Terramare 4 then went for the big one - a Channel crossing. It completed the 25-mile journey from Folkestone to Cape Griz Nez in just over six hours, and then returned to Italy. Zanisi, of Milan, builds speciality vehicles for a living and reckons he could make the Terramare for customers for around €80,000, should you wish to place an order.
Ford Seep
Ford Seep
Ford was commissioned to supplement production of the Willys GPW (General Purpose Wagon) during World War Two and, in partnership with Sparkman & Stephens and military vehicle-maker Marmon-Herrington, an amphibious version was created in 1941.
The GP Amphibian or 'Sea Jeep' - quickly abbreviated - was intended as a smaller, lighter model to use alongside the huge 6x6 DUKW. Simply a GP ('Jeep') with a wraparound hull and transfer case driving a propeller, the Seep weighed a good 1,600kg despite its short 80" wheelbase.
There were also a few problems with its design - it was rushed into production - and it was not fully effective. Intended as a vehicle to transport troops off ships and on to land into battle, it is reported that many sank if the sea was anything less than calm, and that its excessive weight made it very slow on land - 40mph at best without a full load. Though some sources dispute that production ever reached such numbers, it is thought that final output 1942-43 totalled 12,778.
Many Seeps ended up in Russia after World War Two (the US Army didn't want them back and donated them under the Lend-Lease reparation scheme) where they influenced subsequent amphibians produced by GAZ and then several Chinese manufacturers.
