It's an amphibious Lambo!

Author: John Oxley

You can own the world's fastest amphibious car - if you're quick! It looks like a Lamborghini Countach, is nearly as fast - and it's on sale right now on-line.

NB: large images - please be patient

The Ryan Z1A does 260 km/h on land and 24 km/h in the water.

The engine is a 3.9-litre Rover V8 - similar to those in Land Rover Defender and Discovery models - producing 150 kW, and special features include the car's ability to tuck its wheels and suspension away to prevent drag in the water, plus a smoke ejector to confuse potential hijackers!

Fully road legal, the Z1A is currently on sale at around R180 000, and has featured in a number of TV programmes and even a full series in the UK, has leather upholstery, a carbon fibre dashboard, wide alloy wheels and is built on an ultra-strong multi-tube semi-spaceframe chassis.

Suspension is totally inboard, and the ride height and spring rates are fully adjustable.

The cars has ultra-wide wheels - 8.5 x 15 at the front, shod with Pirelli 225-50 VR 15 tyres, and 12 x 15 rears with Pirelli 345-35 VR 15 rubber, and drive is through a high ratio R30 transaxle.

For water use - and it's simply a matter of driving down a slipway or off a hard beach - there are hydraulic suspension activators to compress the suspension while water borne, plus a twin prop drive via an engine power take-off point.

There are twin rudders and a front hydrofoil And the smoke ejector? That was installed for a film, and is STRICTLY illegal on the road!

The car is being auctioned on eBay.com at Click here