Amazing Water Car “Panther” Handles The Road And Open Water (VIDEO)
Like flies to honey, boutique vehicle builders the world over (but mostly in California and Florida) are drawn to the challenge of building a better amphibious car. A newish entry to the segment, the WaterCar Panther, recently came to our attention via a deliberately wacky promo video making the rounds on YouTube.
Despite its don't-tell-Jeep's-lawyers looks (eagle-eyed litigious types will note that the Panther's grille has a mere six slats) this WaterCar actually looks like a nifty piece of watersports kit. At the heart of the Panther is a 3.7-liter V6 engine sourced from Honda, which powers the wheels (rear only by the looks of things), and what the company calls its Panther Jet for in-water propulsion. We're told that the vehicle will do a sprightly 44 miles per hour over the water (38 knots), and more than 80 mph on the street. Transition from car to boat mode takes about 15 seconds, we're told.
We don't have any idea how much WaterCar is asking for a Panther (we're looking into it), but we're guessing that the sticker price is higher than the budget for the promotional video. Warning: silly skits, presumably unlicensed Metallica and dozens (hundreds?) of bikinis follow. Enjoy the mayhem. (AutoBlog)