AMAZING AMPHIBIOUS CAR! - WaterCAR PANTHER drives straight into the water - Check it out!

SUBSCRIBE HERE!! https://www.youtube.com/kevinhunter7 Is it a Jeep? Is it a speedboat? No, it's WaterCar's Panther incredible amphibious vehicle! (Kevin Hunter has authorized use of this video per Fred Selby at WaterCar). Watch this amazing demonstration by testdriven of the WaterCar Panther SUV and how easily it transitions from driving down the street to hitting the water, going fishing or water skiing, and then hitting the sand dunes. Are these cars the way of the future?
GizMag reports that Recreational amphibious vehicles are nothing new, but most are one-offs, and tend to be boats that can creep on land, or cars that slosh slowly through water. There are exceptions, notably entries from Gibbs, but arguably, amphibious vehicles have not made the grade as true all-round vehicles that can be driven to work during the week, and on the lake on weekends.
WaterCar's new Panther straddles the divide.
Take a Jeep CJ-8, put a Honda Acura 3.7-liter V6 in the back to provide 305 hp, add a fiberglass hull, retracting wheels, and a jet boat drive and you've got the new Panther from WaterCar, which it claims is the world's fastest amphibious car. Capable of doing over 80 mph (127 km/h) on the road and 44 mph (70 km/h) on the water, the Panther is equipped with a long-travel off-road suspension that allows access to less user-friendly lakes. The appearance of the Panther takes after the Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler, with a stretched wheelbase that provides extra interior room.
Half SUV , half boat — the Panther is a completely custom vehicle designed and built by the small California company WaterCar; and it’s our idea of a good time.

The Panther’s obvious main attraction is its ability to transform from a road-going SUV to a seafaring boat within seconds, giving passengers the ultimate go-anywhere capability without huge compromises in either department. WaterCar says the Panther will do an impressive 80-plus mph on the road and 44 mph (38 knots) on the water. It will even tow a wakeboarder or skier at a decent clip.

A rear-mounted Honda 3.7-liter, VTEC V-6 sends power through a proprietary four-speed manual transaxle/transfer case that can switch between powering the rear wheels or the “Panther Jet” water-propulsion system. The Jeep Wrangler -like body is constructed of lightweight fiberglass and features a non-lawsuit-inducing six-slotted grille (seven slots on a real Jeep ), a folding windshield, half-doors, and a roll bar.

Under the bodywork lies a fiberglass V-type hull that allows for the high on-water speeds. Unlike the Titanic, sinking isn’t an issue. The Panther is filled with 32 cubic feet of U.S. Coast Guard-approved closed cell Styrofoam. Holding everything together is a custom chromoly tube chassis that’s impervious to corrosion. Huge hydraulic shocks retract the wheels up and down in second for quick changes between land and water modes.

All told, the WaterCar Panther is one awesome machine that somehow makes regular boating appear boring. Selling for $135,000, the Panther isn’t cheap, but it seems like a deal if life becomes as fun as the video above depicts.

Authorization to use this video was provide by Fred Selby at WaterCar via email. His comments read: Hi Kevin, and thanks for including us. Perhaps you have seen a recent Rant video that has had 78 million views. Please consider this as WaterCar's approval for you to use the referenced video.

Sound tracks in the video are from YouTube royalty free music. First track is titled "Atlanta" by Jingle Punks, second track is "Hit my Soul" by Silent Partner. #auto #business #market