The WaterCar Panther is not the best boat and not the best car but, if commuting either from your private island or through your home city is proving a chore, then it might make sense. All of these figures seem trivial, though, once you watch the WaterCar turn from a car into a water vessel for the first time. The two collaborated on the Panther, their latest ambition, which was first conceived and built in March's body shop in California's Orange County. – Build in fiberglass, and with a weight on barely 1400 kg. It is heavy to steer and, in many countries, not street legal (although loopholes seems to have been found by some owners – one even registering it as a tractor). The Panther's body is constructed of fiberglass, rather than steel, for the sake of lightness, and is coated in anti-corrosion sprays to ward off the effects of salt water. Under its lightweight skin, WaterCar recommends that owners endow their Panthers with either a 3.5- or 3.7-liter, six-cylinder Honda engine. That’s pretty well what Dave March, creator of the WaterCar also told me. Built in Fountain Valley, California, the WaterCar Panther is a fully functioning car and boat, which can raise its wheels up and propel itself through the water at the flip of a switch. All in all, early descriptions of WaterCar's Panther suggest that it will provide real enjoyment to anyone living on or near water. Fast. Unsinkable, they said. I believe I can get another 1-2 mph out of it. We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles using Facebook commenting, First Drive: Porsche's 911 GT3 Cup, GT3 R and RSR, Motorcycle review: 2017 Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. Onlookers in Dublin’s city centre couldn’t quite believe their eyes when they saw a car literally driving up the River Liffey! "Here in southern California, it's a natural progression that we would go off-roading in the wintertime and watersports in the summer.". Ireland is from where that most infamous of all liners, the Titanic, last left land. On the dash, right by a sign that says ‘Land’ (which reverses the process), is the Water button. When you want to get to your destination fast or just enjoy the thrill of speed on water, this amphibious car has got you covered. By raising them, its drag is reduced and, with 250 horsepower at hand, it can plane on the top of waves and reach a top water speed of around 80 km/h. It is much faster on the water (currently 53 MPH with a full tank of gas). Europe is not a major market so far for WaterCar, so this is a rare beast in these parts. Keen eyes will notice that the Panther's grille has only six slots, instead of the Jeep's signature, trademarked seven-slot grille. gearbox-mounted transfer case. 365 Bloor St East, Toronto, ON, M4W3L4, www.postmedia.com. Irish and current European Masters Wakeboarding Champion, Peter Stewart, gets a tow behind the WaterCar Panther in Dublin. This is one of the first WaterCars made and part of a stable of exotics owned by a member of the Lego toy family in Denmark – he has two. For the full experience, however, the windshield is collapsible. anti-corrosion sprays to ward off the effects of salt water. And like the old Jeep on which it is styled,  airbags are not fitted. Avoiding the barnacled yacht tied up on the same slipway we are using to access Dublin harbour, watching out for a swan nuzzling seaweed at the water’s edge and aware of a 40,000-ton cruise liner almost filling my further field of vision I engage first gear and drive, as you do, into the ocean towards the ship. The Panther is, in most regards, as easy to drive as any passenger car with no power steering and a manual gear box. Given Dublin’s traffic – for a modestly sized capital – is like molasses, the appeal of bypassing traffic jams using the water is an appealing bi-product of using the city’s tidal artery. Fore and aft (sorry, we’re not in the water yet; front and back in car parlance) something mechanical and whirring is happening, but not that I can see. While he liked the concept of owning and driving a car that doubled as a boat, he desired a vehicle faster than the Amphicar's 40-some-horsepower engine could muster. It is one of the fastest amphibious vehicles on water, reaching speeds of up to 44mph. I get an exclusive chance to test it, sadly not from a private island but in Dublin Bay and on the River Liffey (from which Guinness thankfully does not get its water). Maybe a few of these on each ship would up the fun quotient to a cruise. The gutsy Honda engine revs to over 6,500 rpm and, with only two of us in the car, bursting onto the wave tops is like riding a surfboard for the first time. Yet the Panther is, in most regards, as easy to drive as any passenger car with those same characteristics. Entering the water, the Panther's effortless transition from car to boat is a double shock to the eyes and the mind. Top speed for the Panther on water is 38 knots or 70 km/h On land the vehicle can achieve a top speed of 128 km/h Upon entering water the vehicle will transform into a jet boat in 15 seconds. In Dublin we are limited to just below 50 km/h. 4. On the street, the Panther is unremarkable as a vehicle. “The most important thing,” he says in a sing-song Scandinavia accent but with an undertone of Viking threat, “is to remember you need power to steer on water.” He is not wrong. Driving the Panther on land is an equally attention-drawing riot, to rival that of cruising lazily in a supercar on a crowded street. To keep the Panther afloat, and quell the nonbelievers, the hull is also lined with foam. Selby and March enlisted the guidance of naval architects to help them design a proper hull for the Panther, in order to ensure smooth sailing as well as seamless integration into the vehicle's design. The body of the WaterCar Panther sits next to the car's chassis at the company's California body shop. On a quiet street in Long Beach, Calif., where we experienced the Panther's on-road performance, tourists eagerly reached for smartphones and cameras. Picture this: You're enjoying an afternoon on a calm beach out in the Hamptons, splayed out lazily on a beach towel. We buzz past the towering white wall of the cruise liner moored and get waves and yelps from those on their balconies. The Panther's body is constructed of fiberglass, rather than steel, for the sake of lightness, and is coated in anti-corrosion sprays to ward off the effects of salt water.