1965 OTAL One Ton Amphibious Land Rover

Chassis number: 97 / 1

Registration number: KYY 501C

Engine type: 2.6 Petrol

Gearbox type: 4 Speed

Vehicle spec:
This is a one-off prototype built for the Australian army in 1965. Known as the OTAL (One Ton Amphibious Land Rover) it was based on a Land Rover One Ton with a six cylinder petrol engine.

The cab, wings and rear body are aluminium watertight compartments and all possible space is stuffed with expanded foam for buoyancy. Propulsion and steering was by the tyres.

The vehicle went to Australia for trials but was never accepted and returned to the UK. In the early 1970s the OTAL lived at Eastnor Castle and by 1983 it was in the hands of BMIHT at Gaydon.

We purchased it and carried out a full restoration in 2008. In 2013 it participated in the Land Rover 65^th Anniversary event at Packington Park. We placed it on the same slipway it had used for some of its early ‘swims’ at Packington in 1966.