Sources

Where the facts come from

Every factual claim on this site links to its source. This is the full list.

How we checked

Each fact was written in our own words alongside its source. Our build script stores the text of every source and, for each fact, checks that the key words and figures really appear in it. 211 of 211 checks passed when this site was last built (10 November 2026). Where we couldn’t find a named source saying something, we left it out. Where good sources disagree, we say so and give both.

Where sources differ

• What 770 meant. 7 knots and 70 mph (owners’ club FAQ, “it is said”; Hagerty UK; Hemmings, 7 knots or 8 mph); 7 mph and 70 mph (owners’ club history; Hagerty, 2016; Sky HISTORY; Science Museum Group; Edle Oldtimer); 7 mph “or 6 knots” (Barrett-Jackson).
• Water speed. About 6 knots (owners’ club FAQ), 6½ knots (Lane Motor Museum), 7 knots (Berlin-Brandenburg business archive), 8 knots (Der Spiegel, 2006), 12 km/h (Der Spiegel, 2009; TECHNOSEUM; Edle Oldtimer); cruising at 8 to 10 mph (owners’ club) or 10 mph (Hagerty).
• Land speed. 70 mph (most sources), 68 mph (Lane), about 65 mph by road testers and a listed 90 mph (Hagerty), up to 85 mph in some sources (Hemmings), 105 km/h (Der Spiegel, 2009), 113 km/h (Edle Oldtimer), 120 km/h (Der Spiegel, 2006; TECHNOSEUM), 125 km/h (Berlin-Brandenburg business archive).
• Power. 43 hp (owners’ club), 39 bhp (Hagerty UK), 38 PS (Der Spiegel, 2006), 38.3 PS (Edle Oldtimer); 1,147 cc, or “1200 cc” (Der Spiegel, 2006).
• The prototype. Built in 1957 (TECHNOSEUM); first shown at Geneva in 1959 as the Eurocar Alligator (Hagerty UK).
• Backers. Harald Quandt and the Quandt family (Der Spiegel; Edle Oldtimer), IWKA within the Quandt group (Hagerty, 2016), West German public money (Hagerty UK; Hemmings), “the American Quandt Group” (Hagerty’s price guide).
• Where it was built. Lübeck and Berlin (owners’ club; Der Spiegel; Edle Oldtimer, assembly in Berlin from autumn 1962); bodies from Italy (Martin Auto Museum only).
• First shown in America. New York in 1960, as a pre-production car (Edle Oldtimer), or New York on 1 April 1961 (Hagerty’s price guide).
• Plans. At least 25,000 in total (Der Spiegel, 2006), 20,000 a year (Hagerty UK), “something like 30,000” (owners’ club).
• US price. $3,395 falling to $2,695 in 1964 (Hagerty’s price guide); $2,800 rising to $3,200 (Hagerty, 2016); $2,800 to $3,300, later years cheaper (owners’ club).
• Seats. A two-seater (Transportation History) or a four-seater (Hagerty’s price guide and others).
• Grease points. 13 (Edle Oldtimer), more than a dozen (Hemmings), 32 (a Berlin owner, in Der Spiegel).
• Production years. 1960 to 1963 (Berlin-Brandenburg business archive), from the end of 1960 for under three years, sold until 1968 (Hagerty UK), over by 1964 (Der Spiegel, 2006), 1961 to 1965 (Science Museum Group), probably last built in 1965 or 1966 (Old Cars Weekly), 1961 to 1968 (National Park Service; Lane).
• Total built. 3,878 (owners’ club; Hagerty UK; Lane; Hemmings, “most sources”), about 3,870 (Edle Oldtimer), about 3,900 (Sky HISTORY; owners’ club “about” page; Hagerty, 2016), nearly 4,000 (TIME), 3,770 (Slate), 3,500 by 1964 (Der Spiegel, 2006).
• American share. About 90 per cent of sales (owners’ club; Hagerty UK), nearly 80 per cent in North America (Hagerty, 2016); 3,046 imported (owners’ club; Lane).
• Why it ended. New EPA and Department of Transportation rules for 1968 (owners’ club; Hemmings), the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Act (Sky HISTORY), tighter US rules for amphibious cars in 1967 (Hagerty UK); Harald Quandt’s death in 1967 (Edle Oldtimer).
• Survivors. About 2,000 in some state and about 600 swimming (owners’ club), 300 to 600 seaworthy (Sky HISTORY), 500 (the club’s president, 2016), about 1,000 (Der Spiegel, 2009), 80 in Germany (Der Spiegel, 2006).
• The first Channel crossing. Two Frenchmen in 1962 (Der Spiegel, 2006) or the 1965 crews (Transportation History). Conditions: force 3 rising to force 6 (Hagerty UK) or “20-foot seas and gale-force winds” (owners’ club). Time: 7 hours 20 minutes (Hemmings) or 8.50 am to 4.30 pm (Transportation History).
• President Johnson’s ride. 11 April 1965 at the Stonewall ranch (National Archives) or 10 April 1965 at the Haywood Ranch on Granite Shoals Lake (the LBJ Library record, via Lisa Waller Rogers). The cabinet-members version is reported without a source (ClassicCars.com Journal).
• The 300 SL gullwing doors. Credited to Trippel by Hagerty and Hemmings; “contributed” (Backfire News); we found no Mercedes-Benz source.

All sources (29)

• International Amphicar Owners Club: IAOC FAQ (27 facts)
• Der Spiegel: Holger Kreitling, Wasserwunderkind Amphicar (August 2006, in German) (25 facts)
• Edle Oldtimer: Das Amphicar 770, ein Amphibien-Fahrzeug der 1960er-Jahre (in German) (22 facts)
• Hagerty UK: Richard Dredge, Cars That Time Forgot: Amphicar 770 (March 2023) (14 facts)
• Hemmings: Kurt Ernst, Cars of Futures Past: 1961–1968 Amphicar 770 (updated August 2024) (14 facts)
• Hagerty Valuation Tools: 1962 Amphicar Model 770, model description and price guide (13 facts)
• Hagerty: Jim Koscs, Sink or swim: a beach car tries a comeback (April 2016) (11 facts)
• International Amphicar Owners Club: History of the Amphicar (11 facts)
• TECHNOSEUM (Mannheim) blog: Im TECHNOSEUM entdeckt: Das Amphicar (July 2016, in German) (11 facts)
• Berlin-Brandenburgisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, Archivspiegel: Ein Auto schlägt hohe Wellen (January 2013, in German) (7 facts)
• Der Spiegel: Markus Bruhn, 60 deutsche Autos: Das Amphicar (July 2009, in German) (6 facts)
• Lane Motor Museum: Amphicar 770, 1964 (5 facts)
• Sky HISTORY: Amphibious cars arrive in Frankfurt after sailing across the English Channel (This day in history, 17 September) (5 facts)
• Transportation History: Almost a disaster, the Amphicar Channel crossing (September 2018) (5 facts)
• Barrett-Jackson: Cars that swim, meet the Amphicar 770 (4 facts)
• National Park Service, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park: Presidential vehicles (4 facts)
• Old Cars Weekly: Amphicar Owners Club set 50th anniversary Swim-in (February 2018) (4 facts)
• TIME: Dan Neil, The 50 worst cars of all time: 1961 Amphicar (2007) (4 facts)
• Science Museum Group Collection: ‘Amphicar’ amphibious vehicle, 1967, object 1973-408 (3 facts)
• Backfire News: John Lloyd, Two Amphicars crossed the English Channel to reach the Frankfurt Motor Show (September 2026) (2 facts)
• Hagerty: Nik Berg, 6 amphibious cars to “whet” your aquatic appetite (September 2020) (2 facts)
• International Amphicar Owners Club: About the IAOC (2 facts)
• Texas Hill Country: Lake LBJ and the rebirth of Kingsland, chapter 14: Kingsland’s #1 neighbor (2 facts)
• The ClassicCars.com Journal: The President and his amphibious car (August 2026) (2 facts)
• The Daily Standard (Celina, Ohio): Shelley Grieshop, Amphicars recognized for their flash and splash (July 2007) (2 facts)
• Lisa’s History Room: Lisa Waller Rogers, LBJ: The Amphicar (September 2026) (1 fact)
• Martin Auto Museum: 1964 Amphicar Model 770 (1 fact)
• Slate: Rebecca Onion, When LBJ drove on water (March 2013) (1 fact)
• US National Archives, Pieces of History blog: Thursday photo caption contest (June 2012) (1 fact)