I was re-organizing the collection a couple weeks ago when I came across the #Amphicar from the #2012 Hot Wheels #Boulevard line. Since I organize the majority of my loose collection by auto manufacturer now, I had to put the Amphicar aside. The 1:1 Amphicar was manufactured by the Quandt Group in West Germany from 1960 to 1965. Safe to say, I don’t have any other vehicles by the Quandt Group in my collection so into the more obscure manufacturer pile it went. While photographing other vehicles, I would look at this pile with no labelled storage bin and think, “man, I should photograph that one!”

So I did…

I remember being all over the #Amphicar when in came out. Being that I grew up in Wisconsin — land of 15,000 lakes (take that, Minnesota!) — the Amphicar seemed like a semi-reasonable car idea. In similar areas of the world, it probably was. Drive to work during the week, go fishing (or party on the lake) on the weekends. Heck, I wanted one and was always infatuated with them when I saw them at car shows. Later in life I realized how truly impractical the vehicle was and have learned about its flaws. Still, the dream of taking this amphibious vehicles from land to water (and hopefully back) persists.

Hot Wheels released the #Amphicar in the #2012 Hot Wheels #Boulevard line in a series called the #Underdogs. It was a motley crew of 10 vehicles with rich & (mostly) short-lived histories. Of course, Hot Wheels couldn’t just do a normal Amphicar at the time … no, it wasn’t exciting enough. So the car was “Hot Wheels -ified” when former Hot Wheels designer Paul DeLorean — nephew of John DeLorean — fitted it with a giant #Blown Engine/Motor.

I have to admit, that the all-diecast #Blown Engine is actually kind of cool. It is extremely well cast as the details are crisp. However, I think had the car been done as more of a replica of the real 1:1, it would be better received by today’s collector audience. But this is Hot Wheels after-all, and its the reason that the brand stands out from the competitors out there… it represents custom culture.

So yeah, the Hot Wheels #Amphicar is actually pretty rad despite it being a true underdog — not only in 1:1 automotive history, but also — as a Hot Wheels vehicle. With this being the #First Edition of the casting. it would go on to have an exclusive deco in the year-end #Boulevard set and appear in consecutive premium lines in Flying Customs (2013) and Cool Classics (2014) — none of which came out as cool as this one!

The fact that this is one unique car made this underdog a truly great Hot Wheels release. Between the excellent faux-wood panel deco, metalflake brown paint, a highly-detailed #Blown Engine, #Real Riders Moon Disc Wheels, and a giant rudder in the back … this may be another vehicle to take in a deeper appreciation of from the original #Hot Wheels Boulevard line.

So now that I’ve featured it, where do I put it? How do you even classify an outlier in the automotive world like this? Should it be celebrated or further ignored? I am going to put this one in the display case for now as I think I may have to get it some friends… to eBay I go!

QUICK LINK! Find the releases of the Hot Wheels Amphicar on eBay!