This Wild Amphibious Prototype Was Built By TVR's Former Owner. It Still Runs And Drives

TVR has had an eclectic history of producing stunning British sports cars. But not everything created by the company was destined for the track. In the early 2000s, TVR’s owner, Peter Wheeler, thought of an amphibious vehicle capable of serving a host of roles. A new video from Harry's Garage captures the only existing Scamander prototype starting up and driving for the first time in over a decade. 

The Scamander last ran in 2012 or 2013, according to Wheeler's son Joe. Time is usually unkind to even the most reliable cars that haven’t moved, but the amphibious car seems mostly unaffected, chilling through the 2010s without much decay.

The Ford-sourced 3.0-liter V6 engine starts up without hesitation. The turn signals, brakes, and windshield wiper works too, while the canopy opens and closes without issue. One of the rear-view cameras works as well, but the digital screen for the dash needs to be fixed, so the Scamander far from perfect. It’ll require work before it’s road-legal again, the short test drive revealing a possible issue somewhere in the driveline.

You’d think a beastly machine capable of treading water would have four-wheel drive, but Wheeler kept the Scamander to two-wheel drive to save weight, with an automatic gearbox channeling the power.

The cabin has three seats, with the driver sitting in the middle. The engine is directly behind the passenger compartment, separated by a thin, removable cover. The two passenger seats fold down to carry stretchers, and the steering wheel flips up to aid the driver in getting in and out of the gangly machine that looks almost beetle-like.

Wheeler sold TVR in 2005 before completing the Scamander, but he continued working on it until he died in 2009. Hopefully his son can get it road-ready sometime in the near future.