Amphicar

Amphicar Price Guide

The Amphicar is one of those cars where the story is at least half the value. There is simply nothing else like it – a factory-built amphibious convertible that is road legal and genuinely swims – and that uniqueness is the single biggest driver of what your Amphicar is worth. If you own one, you own a piece of automotive history that never fails to draw a crowd, on land or in the water.

What Affects Amphicar Values

Condition and completeness are paramount, but with the Amphicar the critical question is whether the car is watertight and genuinely capable of going in the water. A road-only Amphicar that cannot swim is worth significantly less than a fully functional example. The integrity of the hull, the condition of the twin propellers and their drive system, and the seals around the doors and drivetrain are all factors that a standard car inspection would not cover – you need someone who understands both cars and boats. Rust is the obvious enemy, given that the car was designed to sit in water. Of the 3,878 built, it is estimated that only around 500 remain in operable condition worldwide, so any running example has inherent scarcity value.

The Market

Amphicar values have been strong and rising for years, driven by a combination of extreme rarity, novelty appeal, and an active and enthusiastic owners’ club (the International Amphicar Owners Club) that holds regular swim-in events. Well-restored, fully amphibious examples regularly achieve strong five-figure prices at auction, with exceptional cars pushing beyond that. The American market dominates, since the vast majority of surviving cars are in the US. Parts availability is surprisingly decent thanks to a long-established US-based parts supplier who acquired the remaining factory stock, but a full restoration is still a specialist and expensive undertaking. If you are trying to value your Amphicar, the key variables are whether it swims, the quality of any restoration, the completeness of the mechanical package, and colour – the original factory palette of Beach Sand White, Regatta Red, Lagoon Blue, and Fjord Green carries a slight premium over resprayed cars.