English dad transforms his sons mini Land Rover into an amphibian machine and drives it across a lake
Published on Jun 15, 2025 at 11:55 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jun 11, 2025 at 7:09 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A dad from England completely transformed his young son’s mini Land Rover into an amphibious vehicle and then decided to give it a go on the water.
The ambitious amphibious project involved an electric minaturized Land Rover built from a kit.
While the mini Land Rover was great fun to drive around on land, the dad was curious to know what it would be like on water.
So he set himself the task of finding out.
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While any major DIY car project is reason for celebration, there’s something extra special about it when it errs on the weird and wonderful side.
Like the guys who built this super-sized Big Wheel using a tractor wheel, or the man who made his own F1 car out of junk he bought on Facebook Marketplace.
Over in the UK, dad, car enthusiast, and YouTuber Tornado Dave decided to take on his own unusual project.
He converted an electric mini Land Rover built from a kit he designed into an amphibious vehicle.
It takes a lot of work to turn a road-going vehicle into something that can travel on water, but this dad was more than up to the challenge.
As the original kit wasn’t designed to go out on the water, Dave had to make several adjustments and even crafted a whole new hull from sheet aluminum.
To add some extra buyances, he filled the car’s doors with foam, and then fitted some sump pumps to collect any water and get rid of it out the back.
He also moved all of the electrics onto the top of the car so that they, hopefully, wouldn’t end up submerged in the water.
With all the hard work done, it was time to test out the DIY amphibious vehicle by taking it out onto the water.
Tornado Dave decided to throw himself in at the deep end by heading to Coniston Water, a particularly deep lake in the UK’s Lake District.
Fortunately for Dave, his DIY boat/car took to the water like… well, a duck to water, and he was delighted with the outcome.
“I hope you’re all as impressed as I am about this, he said.
“I woke up this morning and thought, ‘you know what i think this is a bad idea’ but how wrong was I?”
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
