1961 and it had the necessary combination of performance, weight, cool running, and reliability. Updated versions of this engine remained in production in the Triumph Spitfire until 1980. The Amphicar engine had a power output of 43 hp (32 kW) at 4750 rpm, slightly more than the Triumph Herald due to a shorter exhaust. Designated the "Model 770", the Amphicar could achieve speeds of 7 knots in the water and 70 mph (110 km/h) on land. Later versions of the engine displaced 1296 cc and 1493 cc and produced up to . Amphicar owners estimate they've been launching on the season's official opening day for the better part of a decade. On Saturday, three had arrived by 11 a.m. in Gas Works Park, but one more was expected for the noon departure from a nearby public ramp. One owner said, "We like to think of it as the fastest car on the water and fastest boat on the road." In water as well as on land, the Amphicar is steered with the front wheels, making it less maneuverable than a conventional boat. Time’s In fact, during the recent floods in Britain, an Amphicar enthusiast served as a water taxi, bringing water and groceries to a group of stranded schoolkids. Bully! In reality, a well maintained Amphicar does not leak at all and can be left in water, parked at a dock side, for many hours. In popular culture In 1965, two Amphicars successfully navigated the Yukon River in Alaska. Two Amphicars crossed the English Channel in Sept. 1965. An Amphicar was restored in season 11, episode seven of the television show Wheeler Dealers. The car was purchased in the United States for $35,000 and shipped to the UK. Its lower bodywork proved to be in poor condition and required complete soda blasting back to clean metal before welding of replacement panel sections. After a test drive in the Thames at Windsor, the restored vehicle was sold for £35,200 at a profit of £4,600 (at that time's exchange rate). Amphicars appear in the films Rotten to the Core (1965), The Sandwich Man (1966), The President's Analyst (1967), Inspector Clouseau (1968), The Laughing Woman (1969), Savannah Smiles (1982), and Pontiac Moon (1994), and in episode five of season four of The Avengers ("Castle De'ath", 1965). It also appears in the TV movie All the Way (2016). US President Lyndon B. Johnson owned