Equally at home on the land or sea, Panther takes you anywhere you want to go. With acceleration provided by a Honda V6 V-Tec motor you can leave the highway behind. First, hit the trail with Panther's durable long travel off road suspension, then take to the water and travel at speeds over 40 miles an hour courtesy of the panther jet, and do all this with the security of knowing you are surrounded by a state of the art revolutionary designed composite body.
The culmination of all of the decisions through years, the trial and error, going back to the drawing board time after time is realized from your very first test drive. You will be absolutely blown away by the Panther. The Watercar team did a fabulous job of creating an extraordinary vehicle that is exciting, raw fun, yet incredibly practical. From the iconic design of the CJ8 to the Honda power plant, the team recognized the importance of engineering out the complexities typical of new innovations. The Watercar team’s foundation is from the repair side; their collaboration of innovation was balanced by the unwavering commitment to repair-ability, and maintainability. They were obsessed with making the Panther easy to repair and maintain.
Fiberglass Hull
The Panther's adventurous appearance was conceived in concert from the iconic CJ8, many of the body parts are actually interchangeable. But in the case of the Panther the appearance is only skin deep Incorporated in the durable light weight fiberglass body/ hull is a next generation off road chromoyl chassis built to hold up to extreme pounding abuse on land or in water. Not only is the body/hull extraordinary strong it is filled with 32 cubic feet of US Coast Guard approved closed cell styrofoam making it virtually unsinkable.
There are two parts to the equation of why WaterCar has revolutionized amphibious construction forever. The first part is the hull; WaterCar has built and tested over a hundred hull bottom designs. The finest naval architects from different parts of the world have all contributed to the Panther design. The second is the chassis structure, Modern day automotive technologies have been slow to develop, compared to aircraft and aeronautical technology. However the recent pressures on the automotive engineers to make “faster, lighter, stronger” advanced composite construction has flooded automotive industry with new technology. WaterCar has incorporated the newest and best of this technology to create one of the most state of the art hull and chassis designs.
Chassis
The light weight chromoyl chassis is engineered to integrate into the composite hull using cutting edge epoxy adhesion technology creating the revolutionary amphibious hull/body. This combined with the extremely durable long travel off road suspension makes this package unequal in the strength and performance.
Engine
After many years of testing multiple engine combinations, the clear stand out was the reliable Honda V6 V-Tec.
It has a proven ten year track record with its 250 HP outboard motor lasting over 5000 hours between rebuilds in some of the harshest environment in the world. The same motor has proven it's excellence in the Honda and Acura SUV’s exceeding 200 hundred thousand miles between overhauls, It's power to weight ratio along with its torque curve combined with it's incredible fuel efficiency make it the perfect combination for the Panther.
The World-renowned Honda quality combines proven reliability and superior fuel efficiency. The powerful V6 V-Tec engine is compact 24 valve SOHC design, without the bulk and weight of long intake runners and multi-camshafts. The narrow V6 design offers top performance and durability as well as great fuel economy. Honda’s Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) system provides power where and when you need it. VTEC gives you a broader, flatter torque curve and smooth power delivery throughout the engine’s operating range. The result is a superior combination of power, torque and fuel economy. V-TEC is the modern replacement for displacement.
Transfer Case
The most important component that makes the Panther possible is the patented transfer case that converts the power from the motor to the jet and the transmission. Watercar Inc. designed and patented their revolutionary amphibious transfer case in 2004, it has proved to be indestructible. It uses the Winter’s Quick Change gears and components that can handle over a thousand HP. When this is combined with the stainless steel Panther Jet that has been tired and proven with over 25 years and over 35,000 units sold... This amphibious drive train combination is truly unbeatable.
Interior
The interior is basically the same size as a CJ8 and yes it is a four seater. The majority of jeep after market interior parts will interchange with Panther. This was a strong motivator for choosing the CJ8 as their foundation, there is an unlimited amount of cool aftermarket products to customize the Panther.
The seats are off road suspension seats that are designed to absorb the big bumps and smooth out the ride no mater how rough the water or terrrain maybe. The seats are made of stainless steal and marine vinyl so it is ok to get the interior really wet. But as in any marine products, corrosion is a major challenge. The WaterCar team has recognized and addressed the corrosion challenges from the very conception at every level possible. Everything that can be built with stainless steel is, every thing else is epoxy coated or built out of non corrosive materials. The Panther is designed to be used in salt water, as long as strict wash out and salt water maintenance procures are followed.
