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Amphibians: Two hundred years of trying to make cars float

The idea of an amphibious car gained glamour from James Bond’s water-going Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me, but people have been making amphibians for 200 years. Probably the first was a steam-powered digger built by Oliver Evans, a Welsh American. He first drove the 17-ton device through Philadelphia in 1805 and into a river, where he started dredging with it. However, amphibians were first used in large numbers during the second world war. Most famous was the American DUKW light truck that ferried troops and supplies between the fleet and land. Painted yellow, these are still used today by Duck Tours to ferry tourists round London.

Numerous civilians attempts have had little success. The bestseller was the German-built Amphicar of the 1960s.…

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