This interesting dual-car is still legal on public roads.
Usually if you like to sail, you get in your car, drive to the rental site, and get on the boat. The wealthier people pull their own boats to the port in their pickup trucks or SUVs. But have you ever thought you could do both in the same car?
That’s what we have in a video by YouTuber “AdamC3046”. This hybrid vehicle is a 7th generation Ford Fiesta that has been converted to an amphibious vehicle and is still street legal in the UK. According to the narrator in the video, it is a project between father and son during the lockdown days.
The great thing about this amphibian Ford is that even at a glance it’s instantly recognizable as a Fiesta. Its top half is from a tiny American car, while the bottom half is the fiberglass fuselage of a Dutton Reef. The wheels also come from the original Fiesta alloy wheels.
In order for the conversion to work smoothly, the Fiesta received a few necessary tweaks. The engine has been moved behind the second row of seats, and the exhaust pipes have been repositioned higher for understandable reasons. The vehicle’s wheelbase is also lengthened to accommodate the mid-engine configuration, while the roof is trimmed to create a sense of enjoyment like when sitting on a yacht outdoors.
In order for the propeller to work, the vehicle is equipped with a distribution box that allows the transmission to transmit power to the propeller when underwater. Acceleration is still controlled by the accelerator, while the steering wheel turns left or right based on the input of the steering wheel.
All in all, it’s an interesting machine, but it’s not without its downsides. With a top speed of 7 knots on water (13 km/h), it’s certainly not a speedboat. But anyway, how many Ford Fiestas are there in the world that can drive both on land and in water at will?
