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| California company WaterCar has built what it claims is ‘the world’s fastest amphibious vehicle’. |
U.S. company WaterCar has literally launched the Panther, which
does as well on water as it does on tar roads and even sand. I'm no strangers to amphibious
vehicles, but this amphibious car looks a lot sexier than the Russian
all-terrain vehicle we drove, and goes a lot faster than the Chinese amphibious
troop carrier we floated.
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Shawn Perumal in the Hagglunds
BV206 all-terrain vehicle, which is a snowmobile that also floats. |
I've driven Russia’s Hagglunds BV206 in the Midlands last year, and
while its old 3,0-litre Ford Cortina engine is still robust, the boxy snowmobile
is definitely not aimed at the bass-fishing and skiing set, like the Panther
is.
The Yank is also faster than the Flagship, an amphibious troop
carrier built by Beijing Auto Works (BAW) for the Chinese army, where the
generals found its 80 km/h top speed too slow. A few years ago, we drove and
floated the Flagship both in South Africa and Botswana, where the Flagship was
marketed as an ideal morning game drive and booze cruiser for tourists.
WaterCar did not make its Panther too slow. On tar, it has a
claimed top speed of over 120 km/h, using a Honda Acura 3,7-litre V6 in the back
to lug around the fibreglass hull, retracting wheels, and a jet-boat
drive.
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The 80 km/h slow Flagship
from BAW is ideal for booze-cruising. |
Even the conversion from boat to car happens at a good clip. Once
afloat, the driver becomes the skipper by engaging neutral, pulling a knob to
engage the jet, pushing a button to raise the wheels and trying to remember
which is port and which starboard. The entire process from car to boat or boat
to car takes just 15 seconds.
On water, the H450 Panther Jet drive has 500 horses that push the
car at a speed of some 72 km/h, making it “the world’s fastest amphibious car”,
according to WaterCar. To make it unsinkable, the Panther’s hull is filled with
closed-cell Styrofoam in the same manner that BAW filled the hull of its
Flagship. A long-travel suspension and wide tyres allow it to launch off a step
into water at up to 24 km/h. Having done this a few times in the Chinese
Flagship, we can testify that few things on Earth feel as wrong as driving a car
at full tilt over a dam wall into the water.
The Panther’s long-wheel travel also enables it to scurry back up a
steep slipway and will give it a reasonable ability in soft sand once its wide
tyres have been deflated.
Like all amphibious vehicles, it comes with an eye-watering price.
The Panther sells for over R1,3 million ($135 000) before import taxes and such.
To help ease the pain, WaterCar also sells a rolling chassis for half the price
($76 000) and a “turn-key minus” version at $106 000. The Panther comes standard
with left-hand steering, but can be ordered with optional right-hand steering.
All Panther sales are free on board (FOB) from the WaterCar factory in Fountain
Valley, California, which means buyers are responsible for transport and
registration.
