eBay Find of the Day: Amphibious Fiat 850 barchetta
One-off amphibious 1975 Fiat 850 - Click above for full image gallery
So you've got this 1975 Fiat 850 spider sitting there and you happen to live in Washington, where boating is almost as popular as coffee. You like your little Italian roadster but you really want a barchetta, something that can take you out onto the open sea, something that can quench your thirst for riding the waves. The water beckons. One Sawzall, a whole bunch of aluminum, and 25 years of nifty engineering work later and you have yourself a one-off amphicar.
It's still powered by a Fiat 900cc four-cylinder coupled to a four-speed transmission while on land, but the aquatic propulsion comes from a Berkley jet engine attached to the crank of the Fiat engine via a clutch drive mechanism. Check out the photos to see how it works -- it's really pretty slick -- where you'll also discover the wheels partially retract wheels into the body when the car goes sailing, just like in the best Bond movies. Follow the jump to see video of the one-off Fiat on the water and on the road. It can be yours cheap, as the auction is no reserve and currently bidding is just over $1500.
Gallery: 1975 Fiat 850 custom amphibious car
[Source: eBay Motors]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
HotRodzNKustoms 6:09PM (9/18/2009)
I think... I'm in love... with a little red boat...
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artandcolour 6:23PM (9/18/2009)
too bad it doesn't look more like the donor Fiat 850 Spider. that was one of Giugiaro's early masterpieces. cool project though.
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craighead 6:56PM (9/18/2009)
No recent pictures of it in the water?
Yeah I don't wanna be the one to find out if it's still sea worthy. That video of it in the water looks to be over 20 years old.
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AkaiWRX 8:48PM (9/18/2009)
That is not Washington, sir. That is Tustin Ranch, California in OC. I've seen this guy around a few times and he took those pics at the Tustin Ranch Golf Course where I play almost every week. Just an FYI. I'm not a douche BTW. Sorry...
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ctobio 11:52PM (9/18/2009)
I wonder if the owner ever encounters any trouble from a gleaming alloy air car shooting towards him, two lanes wide.
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David 7:15AM (9/19/2009)
Fiats of this era were so prone to rapid and pervasive corrosion that some of us referred to them as biodegradeable.
I will concede they were nice to look at. I admired them and owned two 124s. Unfortunately every morning you could discover another perforation that wasn't there the day before.
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Abhi 5:35PM (9/19/2009)
Wasn't this at cars and coffee in irvine today?
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Frank 5:51PM (9/19/2009)
Yes it was. Originally built and licensed in Washington, it has been down in SoCal for a few months leading up to this auction. You should have seen Reeves Callaway admiring it.