This Weird All-Metal Amphibious ‘Supercar’ Can Do 60mph On The Water

Amphibious cars are machines of wonder. Imagine showing up at the lake, driving your car directly down the boat ramp, and having a fun day on the water in the same vehicle that got you there – then driving it back up the ramp and onto the highway when it’s time to go home. You might not go clock high speeds on land or sea (the most widely known amphibious cars aren’t very fast), but who cares – your car is amphibious! Well, one guy sure cared. This is the 2012 Sea Lion, a one-off car built to be a supercar on water. It’s coming up for sale and, if you have the cash, you can skip across a lake in a car going as fast as a Jet Ski.

The Sea Lion was housed within the epic museum of Chicago’s Klairmont Kollections. Of the hundreds of cars owned by the late Larry M. Klairmont, the Sea Lion is among the vehicles that have gotten the most media attention as of late. Sadly, Klairmont’s collection is being sold off, and the museum bearing his name is closed. If you wish to read more about Klairmont’s awesome legacy and the epic museum, click here.

If you were not able to catch the museum when it was open, you at least have one last chance to see the cars digitally. Mecum is hosting the Larry’s Legacy: From the Larry Klairmont Collection auction on September 19, ending on September 21. The auction will contain 295 cars and over 1,000 pieces of road art.

One of the vehicles that I suspect many people will be drooling over is the sole 2012 Sea Lion, a car that was pitched as an amphibious supercar.

One Man’s Amphibious Dream

The Sea Lion story leads back to California-based engineer Marc Witt. As the story goes, Witt was obsessed with the idea of breaking the land-and-water speed record for amphibious vehicles. In 2006, Witt began an ambitious project under the umbrella of his company, Marc Witt Applied Design, to build the vehicle. Mecum says he got additional assistance from SeaRoader Aquatic, but this vehicle would be very much a labor of love—he was a one-man shop—and the development took around six years.

Witt started with a clean sheet and designed the vehicle in CAD and with “spreadsheet calculations.” The vehicle is almost entirely custom, except for the powertrain and apparently a few structural components. Here is what Witt said when he listed the car for sale in 2012 after its completion:

There are approximately 25 current contenders in the world with a variety of designs and capabilities. Each year, one builder proclaims their performance is superior to the rest, and they display their data through public announcements. The competition is unofficial, and participants enjoy the freedom of having a complete lack of rules. Various extreme designs are continually explored; each has measurable benefits as well as drawbacks.

For the most part, a GPS display with a YouTube recording is internationally accepted as “valid” for speed documentation. There has been talk of creating a corporate event, similar to Burning Man or Kinetic Sculpture Race, which records and awards the competitors with specific acknowledgements. This, however, may be more of a detriment than assistance. The addition of Rules and Requirements always diminish scientific achievement and exploration. And it just plain ruins all the fun!

If a neutral party is required to settle a performance dispute, “Guinness World Records” is available to record and bear witness to any new achievement. So at least at this time, there does not seem to be a need for any larger event organization.

Witt continues that in 2006, the top speed was 45 mph on water and 125 mph on land. But by 2012, the water speed record had risen to 60 mph.

The Sea Lion

Witt says that this car is one huge hunk of aluminum and stainless steel. The vehicle is based on a unibody structure, and Witt claims it is “TIG welded 5052 Aluminum constructed from CNC plasma burned shapes and other CNC milled components.” He further notes that the vehicle has side pods that are removable and can be used for buoyancy or for storage. The fenders and quarter panels are also removable.

The use of aluminum is dramatic, and extends into the interior, where even the steering wheel is one solid lump of metal.

Power comes from a 1.3-liter twin-rotor 13B Wankel engine from a 1974 Mazda. Witt noted that part of the choice behind this engine was because it was smog-exempt. This engine, which is strapped to a Holley carburetor and a Camden supercharger, produces somewhere in the region of 174 horsepower. That pair of spinning Doritos sends power to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission that Witt says was geared to a top speed of around 180 mph on the road.

Other equipment onboard the vehicle includes a hydraulic wheel lifting system to keep the wheels out of the water, and a motorized front spoiler that folds up when the vehicle is in the water. A modified Berkeley 12 JC jet drive pump provides propulsion in water, while a flight stick provides maneuvering in water from the cockpit.

Witt claimed that, as of 2012, the Sea Lion could reach 125 mph on land and approximately 60 mph on water. He notes that the car could go faster in both situations, but it would need more power. For that, Witt suggested, the Sea Lion would benefit from a tuned rotary engine from a Mazda RX8.

Witt was pretty obsessive in his mission for speed. The Sea Lion is unlike most commercially available amphibians. Modern amphibians like the Dutton Amphibious Car, the Gibbs Aquada, and the Hydra Spyder try to be the best of both worlds: comfortable cars and fun boats. The Sea Lion is built only for speed, and it shows in the fact that there are no frills and no extras. There is no air-conditioner or even a fan to keep you from baking while under that dome. The car didn’t even have a title in 2012, and it doesn’t have mirrors, so who knows how it could be made road-legal. Its one and only mission is to go fast, no matter how uncomfortable you feel getting there.

Weirdly, Witt has never broken any record with the Sea Lion. The vehicle was put up for sale in 2012 and has since appeared online in various places. But for the most part, the car has done nothing but sit. If you look closely, you’ll see that the vehicle has a 2015 California boat registration, but who knows if the car has even touched water since then. The car was last listed for sale by Hyman Ltd. in 2021. It looks like Klairmont’s ownership continued the car’s record of sitting, but at least the car got to sit on display in his museum. That’s where I saw it last year.

So, someone can now continue Witt’s original mission. Back in 2012, Witt said that, given the experimental nature of the vehicle, he remained available in case the new owner wanted to make the car any faster:

I will remain available as a consultant, engineer, machinist and psychiatrist for whoever decides to venture further into the amphibious record books. The car comes with a number of accessories and earlier prototype parts. As a racing car, this Sea Lion is sold on a bill of sale only.

Finish The Dream

Sadly, I have not found the contact information of Marc Witt, nor has he come forward after the announcement of this latest auction. But I bet that, for enough money, he’d be happy to work on his old project again.

If you’re interested in finishing the mission, the car comes up for sale on Saturday, September 20. Since this is the one and only example, I cannot even begin to guess what it’s worth. Witt wanted $259,500 for the car back in 2012, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes for more than $100,000. Group buy, anyone?

I love everything about this weird project. Amphibious cars are wild by themselves, but it’s even cooler to learn that, just like there are people addicted to speeding at Bonneville, there are engineers obsessed with going fast in a vehicle meant to drive on land and skip across water. Maybe someone will see just how fast the Sea Lion can actually go.

Top graphic image: screengrab, Ken Wei/YouTube