A vehicle in Gozo has attracted a lot of attention over the past few weeks and it’s not because of its eye-catching neon yellow colour.

It’s hard for passers-by to miss the small and bright car as it goes down the steep road leading to the beautiful bay of Mġarr ix-Xini. But what truly turns heads is when it progresses down the slipway right into the sea.

In awe, people lift their mobiles to snap a picture of the vehicle and many may wonder: is it a car? Is it a boat? In reality, it is both.

“This is the first amphibious SUV in Malta and Gozo and we brought it over to give people the experience of being driven in an amphibious vehicle both on land and at sea,” Mark Zarb Cousin, one of the owners, told Times of Malta.

The idea behind was originally Joel Hili’s, a Gozitan, who recalls spending countless hours on his friend’s boat fishing and wanted something to use on land and at sea. After searching locally for such a vehicle, Hili, Zarb Cousin and the third owner, Joe Bridge, decided to look overseas.

The custom-made vehicle has Suzuki Jimny parts, the bottom parts now made of fibreglass, complete with a water jet-propulsion system. It also has a pump to remove water entering the vehicle, which arrived in Malta last year.

Dutton is the manufacturing company.

The partners explained it took over a year to build and customise the vehicle to ensure it can withstand sea water.

“We tried to find a vehicle which was easily accessible in order to enjoy the experience,” Hili, also the captain of the vehicle, said.  And the attention on it has been “unbelievable”.

“Everyone is showing interest in the vehicle, tourists, locals-simply because it’s unique,” Zarb Cousin said. “There is nothing like it here.”

Mark Zarb Cousin and Joel Hili posing in front of their amphibious vehicle.

Making a splash

With a top speed of 85km per hour on the road and is a four-wheel drive, at sea it cannot go beyond six knots. But that does not mean it’s not an entertaining ride.

Hopping into the soft grey back seat just before it drives down the slipway, one cannot help but notice all the gadgets that make this vehicle unique.

The dashboard has all the usual instruments found in a car: a power steering wheel, a radio and even AC vents. One will also find a marine compass and a depth gauge to stop the vehicle from getting grounded.

To proceed to the sea, Hili shifts the car into neutral, the gearbox into third, pulls up the marine jet lever between the front seats and presses the accelerator. The steering wheel operates the rudder.

There are also life jackets, fire extinguishers and two built-in fans to cool the radiator.

From the office to the sea

For Hili, the convenience factor is one of the biggest reasons behind purchasing the vehicle.

He explained that the vehicle does not need a boat trailer or hassle with ropes. “You could spend a day at the office and then decide to jump into the car and drive down to a slipway and make your way out to sea,” he said.

The vehicle is licensed as a car and a private boat and also covered with a sea licence. The business partners are in the process of getting a commercial boat licence to provide tours and give people a unique experience – one they cannot find anywhere else in Malta or Gozo.

The partners refused to say how much it cost but, according to a number of websites, the Dutton Mariner was valued at about €22,000 last year.

What could be perhaps their only regret? The colour choice.

“People associate it with the yellow submarine but it’s never going to sink,” Zarb Cousin said.

Other floating vehicles that crossed the Maltese shores

While Transport Malta confirmed that the bright yellow amphibious SUV is the first of its kind registered with the agency, it’s not the first time such amphibious vehicles turned heads on the Maltese islands.

Photographs shot in 1958 show an amphibious war tank driving onto Għadira Bay. It was reported it could operate in around 2.7-metre deep water and was utilised to re-float small landing craft stuck on the beaches. The vehicle was eventually abandoned and left to rot in the limits of Anchor Bay, Mellieħa.

On June 8, 1952, two Hibernians football club supporters - Harry Grasso and Victor Pace - were killed when fireworks being carried in a former army amphibious vehicle exploded in Pietá. The fireworks had not been used as the team lost the match. There were about 20 supporters on board.

More recently, in 2007, the AmphiCoach GTS-1, a passenger coach, was designed by a team funded by Scotsman George Smith and built in Malta. Taking three years to build, the prototype was tested at Marsaxlokk Bay.

In 2018, another amphibious vehicle was seen at Għadira Bay, this time not in form of a threatening military tank but a bright-coloured car, which drove onto the beach and transformed into an Aperol Spritz bar and DJ stand.