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.


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[Source: eBay Motors]


The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.



The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Untitled from jjohnson on Vimeo.

The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Untitled from jjohnson on Vimeo.

The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Untitled from jjohnson on Vimeo.

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