Amphibious Encyclopedia
The Amphibious Encyclopedia
Every kind of vehicle that drives on land and travels on water, in one place: amphibious cars, boats with wheels, military amphibians, duck tours, amphibious ATVs, hovercraft and more. Every entry lists its sources.
- 20entries
- 140sources cited
- 1805 to todayyears covered
- How they workHulls, propulsion and the jump from road to water
- TimelineEvery milestone since 1805
- GlossaryAmphibious terms in plain words
- RecordsThe fastest, farthest and first
What counts as amphibious?
An amphibious vehicle can travel on land and on water under its own power. Some are cars that float, some are boats that can drive, and some, like hovercraft, ride over both on a cushion of air. This encyclopedia covers all of them: production vehicles, military machines, one-off record breakers and the concepts that pointed the way.
New to the subject? Start with What is an amphibious vehicle? or the plain-language amphibious vehicles overview.
Amphibious cars
Road cars that float and drive themselves through the water, from the 1960s Amphicar to high-speed planing designs.
Amphibious boats
Boats first: real hulls with wheels or tracks that let them leave the water and drive up a beach, ramp or road.
Military amphibians
Landing craft on wheels and tracks, from the World War II DUKW and amtracs to today's Marine Corps vehicles.
ATVs and work machines
Six- and eight-wheel amphibious ATVs, tracked utility vehicles and amphibious excavators for marsh and swamp work.
Hovercraft and aircraft
Machines that cross land and water in other ways: on a cushion of air, or as aircraft that land on water and runways.
Records, people and culture
Record runs, long crossings, television challenges and amphibious vehicles on screen.
How it works
The engineering behind vehicles that have to be good cars and good boats at the same time.
All entries A to Z
- Amphibious aircraft Hovercraft and aircraft
- Amphibious vehicle records and journeys Records, people and culture
- Amphicar 770 Amphibious cars
- Ford GPA "Seep" Military amphibians
- Gibbs Aquada Amphibious cars
- Gibbs Quadski ATVs and work machines
- Gibbs Sports Amphibians Amphibious cars
- GMC DUKW "Duck" Military amphibians
- Half-Safe Records, people and culture
- Hovercraft Hovercraft and aircraft
- How amphibious vehicles work How it works
- Iguana Yachts Amphibious boats
- Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT, amtrac) Military amphibians
- LARC-V Military amphibians
- Oruktor Amphibolos ATVs and work machines
- Sealegs Amphibious boats
- Top Gear amphibious car challenges Records, people and culture
- Trippel amphibious cars (SG6) Amphibious cars
- Volkswagen Schwimmwagen (Type 166) Military amphibians
- WaterCar Amphibious boats
Thinking about owning one?
Road rules and boating rules are separate, and both apply to an amphibious vehicle. Our state-by-state guides cover low-speed vehicle and boat registration.
Last reviewed November 2026. This encyclopedia grows every month. Know a vehicle we have missed? Tell us and include a source.