Jalopnik
If you're hankering for a wheeled amphibious vehicle with assault potential but don't want something as big as the DUKW, perhaps this custom Jeep will do. Built by the folks at the Amphibious Vehicle Design Studio, the Platypus Jeep is a paragon of on-road and in-water capabilities. The floating four-wheeler runs with a turbo diesel engine and is capable of 110 KPH on the road and 10.5 KPH in the water. The hull is designed to work in wave heights up to 1.5 meters and bottoms with a slight 0.75 meter draft depth. We can already picture ourselves storming the beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes. A full list of specs below, for some reason.
SPECIFICATIONS
1.Dimension (L x W x H) 4.830x1.900x2.150(m) (With the handle frame) Or 4.830x1.900x1.950(m) (Without the handle frame)
2. Complete Vehicle Kerb Mass 2100 kg
3. Wheel Space 2700 (mm)
4. Track 1520 (mm)
5. Maximum Speed (km/h)
- On Land 110
- On Water 10.5
6. Maximum Gradient 60%
7. Maximum Angles of Approach / Departure (Degree) 35/30, Maximum Angles of Ingress / egress (Degree) 45/30
8. Minimum Ground Clearance 0.25 (m)
9. Minimum Diameter of Turning Circle
- On Land < 12 (m)
- On Water < 13 (m)
10. Maximum Laden Mass
- On Land 425kg (or 5 persons)
- On Water 800kg (or 15 persons)
11. Maximum Towed Mass
- On Land 800kg
- On Water 4000kg
12. Displacement of Normal Laden Mass 2425kg
13. Draft (under the normal laden mass)
- 0.75m from bottom of the wheels
- 0.35m from low side of the hull
14. Maximum Cruise Time on Water 10 hours (with 70 liter fuel tank)
15. Fuel Consumption (liter/100km)
- On Land 7
- On Water 70
16. Capacity of Fuel Tank
- Standard version 70 (litters)
- Option 100 (litters)
17. Cockpit Volume 5000 (litters)
18. Maximum Wave-Height Allowed (m)
- Offshore 1.3
- In-land water 1.5
19. Average Water In-let Leaks < 10 (litters / hour)
20. Normal Service Time of Main Water Proof Components 3 years
THE CHASSIS AND ITS SPECIFICATION
21. Type of Engine JMC 493QZ Diesel Turbo Charged
22. Maximum Output 68kw (87hp)/4000 RPM
23. Maximum Torque 215 N.m / 2000 RPM
24. Fuel 0# light diesel
25. Main Gearbox MT-75 (5-speed Fully synchronized)
26. Tire 215/80 R16
MAIN PROPULSION COMPONENTS OF WATER DRIVING
27. Self Designed Transfer Case for On-water Propulsion
28. Propeller Diameter 0.45 (m)
[Boatcar.net]
Comments
Sweet!
Although it's pretty ugly. Just looking at it gave me mono...treme.
You stay away from my dunes Wojdyla!
And it's just as ugly as a platypus...the automotive equivalent of the 1975 AMC lineup, without the campy ironic appeal.
Its the Reg Green of Jeeps! If you can't find your Jeep Handsome, at least find it Handy!
The top speed is 110 mph, not 110 mph. Thank goodness for that.
I bet that front end is significantly lighter at 110mph!
110 mph? Hokey smoke, I'd have white knuckles at 50 in this thing.
Well, it's better looking than the Chrysler Sebring.
Wow, the site is super-broken right now.
Poor, poor gerbils
@bzr - Pinko Commie Bastard Edition: the platypus...the ANIMAL equivalent, I meant to say. I'm not drunk, I swear.
This would make my Cherokee perfect. It goes almost anywhere as is. Now it could go ANYWHERE! Wonder if I could get to Europe with stops in Greenland and Iceland?
They had something similar to this in Baltimore. They called them Duck Tours. One of them capsized or flipped over, I forget which, depends if it was on water or land, I guess. Killed some people, they took them out of service for awhile.
I do seriously want an old Amphicar.
And I want to know how 87 HP gets 4500 lbs of mass up to 110MPH without at least a serious tail wind. Especially with that abysmal frontal area and cD. My 300D has the same power, weighs 1000 lbs less, and can only hit about 90.
@mechimike: Due to poor maint. a u-joint blew and took out a thru hull seal. It went down pretty fast and in cold water.
It wouldn't look as graceful going off a cliff into an Italian lake as an Aston Martin...
But where are the poisonous spurs?
@mechimike: Duck tours are run with military surplus versions of the DUKW mentioned in the post - much, much bigger than this little guy.
@Isetta: Its 110 KPH, not MPH...
Certainly a little better performance than my Amphicar (I've never gotten it over 60mph) and the 4x4 would be nice for getting out of some lakes, but unless you really were going to go into combat with it I think you'd want to cut off the hard top.
@NatefromOgden: Ah HA! Now that makes more sense. Reading comprehension for the loss.
It looks better than Richard Hammond's Vanagon boat!!
mechimike it was a pontoon boat not a DUKW, And it was in a gale.
gale--REALLY BAD RAIN.
@morrisseyscoot:
It's still no Toybota.
We all live in a yellow submarine a Yellow submarine.
Combine it with the Brazilian Jeep from yesterday and you could recreate "Splashdance."
/Maniac, maniac I know.
If Amphicars weren't selling for $85k now, I'd want one so bad. This looks too much like a boat to really make my naughty bits tingly.
They've started making the DeLorean again (in theory), why on earth won't someone start making new Amphicars.
Gentlemen, we can rebuild them. We have the technology. Stronger, faster, waterproofier. I even have a donor Buick 3300 V6 that would work perfectly for the concept car. WHO'S WITH ME?!
I've seen some pretty big waves at Sleeping Bear Dunes, so I just picture this thing boring straight in and right to the bottom.
Looks like the modern version of the WWII GPA amphibious Jeep. I'd love one of these, except for the fact that I live in the desert and there's no water. If I lived in, like, Florida I would require something like this. But, being a big fan of big stupid technology I'd have a Duck instead.
I wonder how you get the brakes back after it gets out of the water? A sealed housing would be hard to keep cool, hmm. If you plan on doing stuff with it I would opt for the extended 100 liter fuel tank.
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