Mystery of world’s first swimming Mini Cooper that disappeared under mysterious circumstances
- This prototype Mini Cooper vanished mysteriously after a fire
- It was an amphibious car that used four circular paddles
- Originally, it was a classic Austin Mini Cooper
Published on Jan 01, 2025 at 3:26 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Jan 02, 2025 at 3:12 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Siddharth Dudeja
One of the strangest vehicles ever made is the world’s first swimming Mini Cooper, dubbed the Aquamini —which disappeared without a trace.
The prototype was made at Longbridge, the same factory that built cars like the original Mini in the UK.
Built by workers in their spare time, it was undoubtedly one of the strangest vehicle ever made at Longbridge.
And even weirder, it mysteriously vanished after a huge fire at the factory.
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World’s first swimming Mini Cooper
In 1977, a total of eight men built what was intended to be the world’s first swimming Mini Cooper.
They created the amphibious car by rigging four circular paddling mechanisms to a classic Austin Mini Cooper.
However, it is still not the strangest Mini we have ever seen, as that title belongs to the micro Mini Cooper.
Derek Liney worked in the company’s design office from 1968 to 1987.
He was involved in many different prototypes and offered some interesting details about the Aquamini.
“We built it in our own time. It had a fiberglass floor and was driven by paddles. We used it for two or three years – it even appeared on BBC Midlands Today,” Derek said.
The Aquamini
The amphibious car made its formal debut at the 1977 Hampton Loade to Bewdley raft race.
Unfortunately, many of the prototypes were lost when their storage area caught fire.
Since then, no one has seen any Aquamini prototypes, but Liney believed that a remaining prototype might still be hiding somewhere.
Perhaps stored away or resting at the bottom of some body of water.
Although we don’t know where the world’s first is, several amphibious cars have been made since then.
For instance, there’s TVR’s new Scamander amphibious prototype — which was finally made road-legal.
Then there are also homemade amphibious cars like this unreal converted 1999 Ford Mustang.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.