www.Amphicars.com

News

All about the Top Gear programme, this is the description from the BBC Website:

BBC Top Gear Amphibious Challenge Series 8, Programme 3, May 21 2006
 

========================================================================================================================================

"This week on Top Gear, we took a look at the new Lotus Exige S, Jeremy, James and Richard all took to the drawing board to create amphibious cars and Philip Glenister is our star in a reasonably priced car.

Amphibious cars

The idea of a car that can drive convincingly on land and water isn't a new one, and some attempts have actually come close to being practical. But so far, no one has created an aquatic vehicle that has sold more than a couple of units. Most don't even make it past the prototype stage. The closest we've ever seen was the Aquada and that one does actually work. But at £150,000 its never going to sell like a Focus.

What we need is a team of devoted engineers to come up with a cheap, but practical solution. And with a combined 100 years of experience cocking about, who better than the Top Gear chaps to have a go?

So with that in mind James, Richard and Jeremy set off to purchase their cars and begin modifications. James bought a Triumph Herald, Richard a VW Camper, and Jeremy a Toyota Hilux.

How would each of them perform? Well, once Jeremy had extinguished the flames on his Hilux, James had fitted his mast and Richard had attached his duck, the challenge proper would begin.

Immediately, it became quite clear that James would not have a lot of success wherever speeds over 30mph were needed, or where there was a low bridge. Richard was only able to drive on perfectly flat ground, as his new 2.5 tonne camper was woefully underpowered. Jeremy on the other hand, had submitted to his expert, and had locked the suspension on the Hilux. So bumps were a real pain in the back.

As the team got to the water the inevitable question arose: who would make it across the reservoir without drowning, or getting hypothermia?

Well, it became fairly obvious, fairly quickly, that Richard had built something that had no chance at all of floating. Jeremy, however, had used enough foam to keep his Hilux nicely afloat. While, for James, the floating wasn't the problem. It was the complete lack of power.

Soon it became obvious that the only place Richard's craft was going was to the bottom of the reservoir. Jeremy, in a rare charitable moment, picked him up, and the two were on their way with James in pursuit (if that's the right word for someone who is scarcely moving at all). But soon, even Jeremy's super Toyboata was beginning to take on water. But it looked like they would make it to the jetty first, until one overzealous flick of the wheel saw the Hilux capsize. All of this meant that when he finally arrived 346 hours later, James was declared the winner. "
 

Above words and picture copyright BBC.

========================================================================================================================================

Below I've pasted a bit more about the car being driven by Richard Hammond who shops in our local Tesco (lower shelves only) and can often be seen driving around the Malvern Hills area in cars with the seat pushed a long way forward (for a boy):

========================================================================================================================================

Below words and picture copyright "this is Wiltshire" website.

Conversion floats Top Gear’s boat
By Lewis Cowen

FLOATING AN IDEA: The finished converted canal boat

PAUL and Michelle Wells will make their TV debut this Sunday after taking up a remarkable challenge by the producers of hit TV series Top Gear.

Mr and Mrs Wells, who recently moved to Melksham from Devizes, were approached by the programme makers in March after they saw the website of their company, M&P Steelcraft, on the Internet.

Mr Wells said: "We were asked if we would like to undertake the task of converting a Volkswagen camper van into an amphibious vehicle that resembled a narrowboat, which is what our company specialises in."

The couple jumped at the challenge and, following a preliminary meeting at BBC TV Centre in London, they had their first glimpse of the eBay-purchased horror that was to form the base for the new canal boat.

Mr Wells said: "With lights blazing and engine knocking it stumbled towards our yard. My first thoughts were, oh my God..."

The challenge involved three different contractors being asked to convert three different vehicles into three different craft. As well as the camper van/narrowboat, there is a speedboat constructed out of a Toyota Hiline and a Triumph Herald convertible being converted into sailing dinghy.

They were all due to be tried out at the programme's test track in Staffordshire yesterday and the results will appear on BBC2 at 8pm on Sunday.

For the female employees of M&P Steelcraft, based at Hilperton Marsh, near Trowbridge, March 15 was their red letter day when TV heart throb Richard Hammond arrived to do some filming.

But the day before the van/boat was due to be on set disaster struck. What was thought to be a minor leak from loose jubilee clips on the water hoses, turned out to be the head gasket that needed replacing. In fact, it was worse than that. The fuel pump had given up the ghost. Finally, a reconditioned Passat engine was found.

Then vandals struck and wing mirrors were ripped off and tyres slashed. A flat battery didn't help either.

But despite the frenetic timescale and all the hiccups and hold-ups, Mr and Mrs Wells say they wouldn't have missed it. Mr Wells said: "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

9:20am Thursday 18th May 2006

========================================================================================================================================

SO WHAT ABOUT THE PROGRAMME.....

Well it's TV and great entertainment - just don't take it too seriously. I really enjoy the non-technical "laddish" nature of the new Top Gear. I really don't have time to do TV stuff these days, it's almost 10 years since my Amphicar and I did anything with the Top Gear team but they are one of the best to work with.

Regarding the "cars" well they had just the right mix - which also matched the personalities of the presenters. Of course a lot of magic can be done in the edit suite "post production" and when it comes to professional production and technical quality then without doubt the Top Gear team are the best in the world.

No doubt there was also a lot of spanner work on the cars between shots and expanding builders foam is a "TV amphibian in a can" as it means almost anything can float for a short time. A Nigel would say that none of the three were really Amphibious (definition being equally at home on land and water) as none could drive out of the lake at the end but all had their merits and it made for cracking TV.

If you want to see the programme again then have a look at www.bbc.co.uk/topgear it's there at the moment although probably not for long. When it vanishes then Google is you friend - most of the Top Gear episodes are out there on the Internet and can be downloaded - and the Amphibious clip is already watchable on www.youtube.com

The Top Gear team did sum it up at the end when they said the reason why we don't all drive around in amphibious vehicles is because "it is just so difficult to make them" !

I believe what Amphicar Gmbh did at the beginning of the 1960s was on a par with what NASA did at the end of the 1960s - but then maybe I've spent too long with my wheels in the water !

David Chapman June 2006