The amphibious vehicle to end the snickering? Maybe not.
We've talked about past amphibious vehicle projects like the Dutton Commander S2, Gibbs Aquada and Humdinga, among others, and we all remember the immortal Amphicar, but all of those are rather pedestrian compared to the FastTrack 1. It has tracks. Why hasn't anybody thought of this before? We know there have been dozens of attempts at building a practical amphibious vehicle through the ages, but why haven't any tinkerers tried using tracks before now? Perhaps best known for their use on tanks and bulldozers, tracks afford a flexible propulsion source for land AND water. And as a bonus, they can cover snow and ice fairly easily, as well.
Tracks don't offer high performance (or even moderate performance) driving like conventional wheels and tires, but they still make a decent compromise. That's why the FastTrack 1 from Fast Track Amphibian is so appealing. Sure it looks like a chopped pontoon boat, but this sucker can theoretically pound the waves at up to 39 mph and, when it reaches dry land, can do a highway-friendly 55 mph, as well. The vehicle pictured above is a proof of concept vehicle but production is a possibility.
Only the Amfibidiver seems to be able to one-up the FastTrack 1. If you remember, that vehicle could drive to the water, take you out to a dive spot, anchor while you dove, or even SUBMERGE! But we doubt ice and snow would be handled as easily.
[Source: Fast Track Amphibian via gizmag]
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg "2011 Audi A8: Live from Miami")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DanMan 8:45PM (2/28/2007)
Perfect search and rescue vehicle. Beyond that I don't know about its practicality.
Reply
Rémi 9:09PM (2/28/2007)
"but why haven't any tinkerers tried using tracks before now?"
The amphibious vehicule Argo can be fitted whit tracks :-P
http://www.argoatv.com/applications/applications_photos.asp?PID=88
Reply
Barney 9:45PM (2/28/2007)
Thank's Rémi. That Argo is one nice machine.
Reply
Bill McHale 7:14AM (3/01/2007)
Actually someone did think of them before, they were called amtracks in WWII and were used as landing craft. The US military used them in quite a few campains in the Pacific. I think the US still has a modern version of the same vehicle.
Reply
danisaacs 9:51PM (3/02/2007)
Meh. My dad had a Scrambler (6x6) when i was kid that was pretty darn cool, fully amphibious, and had tracks (thought really only to be added when it was winter).
http://home.elp.rr.com/scrambler/
Reply