Argo – Amphibious car to 8 wheels – 1960
This strange car is called Argo, it was built in Chelyabinsk (in central Russia) in the years 1960 by an engineer from the village of Poletaevo, Maksim Nikolaevich Melnichenko.
It measures 6 meters long and weighs 1,5 tonnes, passengers get to the front, the back is hinged and contains the engine. She has 8 wheels, 4 at the front and 4 in back.
She could roll 70 km/h.
According to locals, the guy who designed this car had worked in a factory of military tanks and after the war he built his own car all terrain, ideal for the hunter and the fisherman he was.
The assembly of the vehicle is very pro, the body is Duraluminum, all parts are fastened with rivets, and the assembly is perfectly sealed.
Apparently, the hydrostatic transmission is, but today the amphibian has no engine.
In 2013, the current owner of the car 10 wheels sought an avid buyer rather than a junkyard to sell its exceptional car.
He did not ask much, 100.000 Roubles, is around 1.500,00 Euros.
I leave you his phone number in case the machine is not yet sold ...
Contact Anatoly at (351) 265-80-66. I leave you to sign Russian.
(20/10/2019) A priori the argo was bought by a Russian Museum, where my friend Yuri Pasholok went to take some pictures.
I start with the Museum brochure that I translated !
All-terrain vehicle “Argo” (years 1960)
Development of the initiative of the head of the GSKB hydrostatic drive group at the Chelyabinsk tractor plant, Maxim Nikolaevich Melnichenko created an unusual vehicle
eight-wheeled amphibian.
Hydrostatic transmission transmits mechanical energy of rotation from the motor shaft to the wheels without the use of a gearbox, no transfer case with many trees.
Instead of that, fluid work whose force and direction of flow are regulated by a hydraulic pump. In the hubs of the eight wheels are installed compact hydraulic motors which convert the flow into mechanical work.
The Argo chassis is made up of two sealed sections, riveted in aluminum sheet, Hinged together and closed with “gills” spectacular as in the style of the film “Amphibian Man”. Despite the impressive dimensions, the machine weighs only a ton and a half.
Front section accommodates driver and passengers, in the back should be the driving unit of
GAZ M20 “Victory” and a hydraulic pump.
The 2 sections can change relative position around a vertical axis. This is how he can turn around corners. It can also maneuver by braking the wheels on one side, in the same way that the famous K-700 Kirovets tractor turns. The movement in the water is ensured by the rotation of the wheels.
On the Argo there is a Nuclear Waste logo, but the text actually says that there is no motor installed !
