Which company supplied the engine for the original Amphicar?

Triumph supplied the engine for the original Amphicar.

The Amphicar used a British-built 1,147 cc four-cylinder engine derived from the Triumph Herald 1200’s Standard SC powerplant. Hans Trippel’s German-designed vehicle needed an engine that was compact, relatively light, reliable, and suitable for a car that also had to propel itself through water. The engine was mounted at the rear and drove the rear wheels on land.

When the Amphicar entered the water, the same engine powered twin reversible propellers under the rear bumper. A separate control engaged the propellers, while the ordinary gearbox could help the vehicle climb a ramp back onto land. The result was a genuine road-and-water vehicle, though its performance was modest: roughly 70 mph on land and 7 knots in water.

The Amphicar’s name combines “amphibious” and “car,” and its Model 770 designation referred to its claimed maximum speeds in miles per hour and knots. It was manufactured in West Germany by the Quandt Group, not by Triumph. That distinction explains a common mix-up: Triumph provided the powerplant, while the Amphicar itself was designed and assembled by another company. Total production reached 3,878 vehicles, most sold in the United States.