CAR: A picture of the Amphicar at the museum The Amphicar is one of the most unconventional cars ever produced and was marketed as the “sports car that swims”. A small flotilla made it safely across the English Channel in the 1960s and one was even driven by the former owner of Belle Isle – the largest of Windermere’s 18 islands – making it a regular sight gliding across England’s largest natural lake. The 1966 Amphicar displayed at the Lakeland Motor Museum had a potential top speed of almost 70mph on land and the four-seater convertible could be converted to a seaworthy boat with the flick of a lever.