It’s a car. It’s a boat. Actually, it’s both. Nothing draws a crowd like an Amphicar. Developed in West Germany, the Amphicar was aimed squarely at America’s leisure market and debuted at the 1961 New York Auto Show. As the culmination of a 15-year, $25 million development program, the Amphicar was conceived by amphibious-vehicle pioneer Hans Trippel.

A curious fusion of road-going and aquatic transport, it remains particularly popular as a unique and eye-catching collector’s item with its amphibious design and twin-screw propellers. Powered by a 1,147-cc Triumph Herald inline four-cylinder engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission, it directed power to the rear wheels on land and, once on water, to twin propellers at the rear. This Amphicar is finished in Beach White and features a black soft-top, red steel wheels and chrome hubcaps, whitewall tires, red and white two-tone upholstery.

Amphicar marketing highlighted the vehicle’s ease of operation, and its unofficial “770” designation referred to its factory-claimed top speeds of seven knots on water and 70-mph on land. It is generally agreed that 3,878 were built through 1967, with the majority exported to the USA, far fewer are thought to remain.