Automotive

‘Go anywhere’ amphibious vehicle might go under

‘Go anywhere’ amphibious vehicle might go under
The Scamander RRV goes for a dip to show off its amphibious qualities.
The Scamander RRV goes for a dip to show off its amphibious qualities.
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Designer Peter Wheeler (dec) with his Scamander RRV.
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Designer Peter Wheeler (dec) with his Scamander RRV.
The Scamander RRV goes for a dip to show off its amphibious qualities.
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The Scamander RRV goes for a dip to show off its amphibious qualities.

Fed up with your Ferrari? Lamborghini a bit lame? Rarely get a reason to take your dinghy out of the shed? Haven’t scared the neighbors for a while? If you've answered yes to at least three of these questions, then the Scamander RRV could be just what you’re looking for. Before his death in June this year, former-TVR owner Peter Wheeler built the Scamander RRV (rapid response vehicle), a car that could drive on track, off-road or even on the water, all while carrying four people.

TVR has enjoyed a long-standing reputation among car enthusiasts for creating something different and the Scamander topped that list. When Wheeler sold the TVR company to Nikolai Smolenski in 2005, he took the opportunity to build a car that captured his passion for driving fast with the ability to literally go anywhere.

He said once he sold the business to Smolenski it freed him up to get cracking on the RRV (with a team of up to eight engineers).

Wheeler was quoted in EVO magazine last year as saying he created the ScamanderV for himself as he “enjoyed shooting, sailing and driving on track, so I wanted something that could cover all these elements. I call it an RRV, for rapid response vehicle. Just don’t call it a car…”

It floats

He built it as light and as simple as possible. He designed massive 35-inch diameter tires to function like those on a tractor and removable paddles for the only driven wheels, the rear ones. The body is foam-filled plastic pods fixed to a central aluminum tub. This prototype is powered by a 2.0-liter Ford Zetec engine, but Wheeler said he intended the finished product to use the light, simple 4.6-liter Rover V8 that he had so much luck with at TVR.

For driving pleasure, the huge canopy affords the centrally-located driver enhanced vision while the passengers are rather awkwardly tucked away behind him.

Behind the passengers, under a large plastic hatch is a pickup-style bed which reveals that the RRV was purpose built as a commercial vehicle.

A remote control for the vehicle was in development too (handy when you need something to collect you from your yacht).

The bad news is that following Wheeler’s death, any hope of production of the RRV seems doomed as the project was privately-funded by the man himself.

Via Jalopnik, video (below) via Hell for Leather.

Scamander RRV

3 comments
3 comments
Ed
OMG...What a really stupid design! The thing barely moves in the water! And those paddles on the wheels! can you say "deadly trajectory"? And it seems that the paddles cause more hinderance than they do propulsion! Those paddles don't even give it enough power to get the front wheels up on the bank! You know what this reminds me of? Those old timey black and white movies that show all those ridiculous ideas for flying machines! All you need for this video is a bunch of keystone cops running up and down the bank in a panic! That would be funny!
Gerard Gallagher
Speaking of Amphibs in arrested development,Does anyone remember the 3 wheel amphibious "Landshark" design that was under development then disappeared? the driven rear wheel had a turbine style design to drive it through water as fast as a speedboat-the mudguards over the steering front wheels were designed to rotate into aquaplane positions once in the water.I saw some interesting designs and CAD models and movies,and Lotus were said to be involved in the suspension,but one day the website and references to the vehicle fell off the web..
viffer
It sounds like a tractor. It would have made a lot more sense if he wanted a "go anywhere" vehicle to have made it 4WD with a waterjet propulsion system for the amphibious side of things.