Salamander: Pinoy-made ‘amphitrike’ can travel on land and water

The two variants of the H2O Salamander being tested. Photo taken from H2O Salamander’s official Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines – H2O Technologies Inc., a private company owned and run by Filipinos, on Wednesday has launched H2O Salamander, a 100% Filipino-made amphibious flood utility vehicle which is the first of its kind in the world.

The H2O Salamander, dubbed as the ‘amphitrike,’ can travel both in land and water.

On land, the vehicle can carry up to six passengers consisting of one driver, two passengers beside him and three passengers at the back and can run on a speed of up to 80km per hour. While on water, it can carry up to four passengers, eliminating the two passengers beside the driver and can do up to 6 knots.

Long-time custom car designer Atoy Llave, along with a team of engineers, has come up with H2O Salamander with the desire to create an automobile that will aid Filipinos residing in flood-prone areas to overcome their challenges during rainy seasons.

“I’ve already achieved so much in the car business. Now, I want to leave behind a legacy. I want to produce something that will help people,” Llave said.

They also aim for this amphibious tricycle, which can also be used for transportation between small islands, to be recognized both locally and globally.

“I want to give pride to the Philippine market. I want to show the world that the Filipino can,” Llave said, hoping to get more funds in developing and marketing the vehicle to the world.

Aside from being proudly Pinoy-made, the H2O Salamander is also built with superb class and quality. It has been perfected after five years of intensive research and development.

“We have a double hull, double bottom and a double chassis,” H2O Technologies Technical Head Lamberto Armada said, explaining that the doubles add resiliency to the vehicle.

The amphitrike’s structure is constructed with fiberglass reinforced material with modular steel framing support and a shell made predominately of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS plastic. It also has a stable and buoyant hull design with built-in Marine-grade industrial propeller. It even has a feature that allows its passengers to charge their mobile devices.

The flood utility vehicle is also environment friendly as it is powered by HydrOplus, an advanced hydrogen blending technology which helps with creating more efficient fuel consumption and reduces carbon emissions.

H2O Salamander will be released for private selling by 2016. It is available in two engine variants, the full electric type with 5KW engine and the gas type with 250cc internal combustion engine.

With report from Cyra Moraleda