Amphibious World Speed Record Competition
Stirring quietly under the pulse and excitement of modern motorsport is an underground scene. Every activity in life has its niches, near enough every sport or hobby will have some kind of subculture that excites a select few.
One such splinter cell of modern motorsport is the 'Amphibious World Speed Record Competition'. Funnily enough it's quite a corporate name for something that has a complete lack of rules and only vague guidelines.
The first rule about 'Amphibious World Speed Record Competition' is, don't talk about 'Amphibious World Speed Record Competition'. Hmm, doesn't really have as much of a ring to it as 'Fight Club', does it?
Nevertheless, it's a competition that many hold close to their heart (and by many we mean "about 25"). Each and every year one of these contenders will announce that they've finally done it, they've finally beaten the rest!
As there is no strict rules per se, a GPS display and a YouTube video will usually suffice, sitting in place of any valid and legal documentations or declarations. However, the 'Guinness World Records' are available as a neutral party, to settle any performance disputes.
You've probably noticed the quite surreal image up above of a strange, silver vehicle - dubbed the Sea Lion - it's something that would look a darn sight more at home on the pages of a comic book than in real life. The above vehicle is probably going to be holding the unofficial fastest amphibious land speed record for several years to come though.
We hope it comes with ejector seats
Designed using a mixture of spread sheet calculations and CAD software, the Sea Lion was created by one M. Witt. Starting the process in 2006 M. Witt lovingly pieced together the Sea Lion, using TIG welded 5052 aluminium (which was constructed from CNC plasma burned shapes and a variety of other CNC milled parts).
Don't get too excited up there buddy
In the beginning the top land speed was a whopping 125MPH, whilst the top water speed was an impressive 45MPH. Predictably, the top land speed has remained unchanged over the years (any faster and it would probably explode if you ask us), but the top water speed has improved considerably; now an amazing 60MPH.
Hope there's life-jackets
The owner has stated that he believed the land speed could be increased by replacing the Mazda Rotary 13b (1974 - smog exempt) with a Renesis Rx8 unit. But he looks to be about ready to move on from his old love, as he's selling it over at the 'Fantasy Junction' website - only $259,500, any takers?
Hopefully you've had as much fun reading this article as we had writing it, make sure to get in touch with us if you have any questions about new cars for sale or PCP deals. We can be reached through our Facebook page - give us a 'Like' and leave us a comment - or by messaging us at @Oneswoop on Twitter.
Images courtesy of:Fantasy Junction
Written by Jake Higginson.