On July 26, 2024, the Paris Olympics opening ceremony will feature a Parade of Nations unlike any other in the history of the Olympic Games. The River Seine will be the processional way for the Olympic teams of the participating nations, who will ride boats past Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and other landmarks that define the world’s image of Paris. One of those landmarks along the Seine is the Place de la Concorde, below which a red Amphicar–arguably the world’s most interesting surviving Amphicar–has been hiding in plain sight for many years.
This Amphicar has spent at least two decades parked on a barge moored on the quai just below the Musee de l’Orangerie, where tourists line up for hours to see the permanent exhibition of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies and works by Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, and other world-famous artists. A 2007 New York Times article noted the Amphicar’s presence on the same barge moored in the same place. It is likely that few of the many thousands who have visited the museum or walked across the nearby bridge since then have noticed the little car/boat beneath its protective awning.
The assertion that this Amphicar is the world’s most interesting surviving example is justified by more than its long-term and highly visible presence in the center of Paris. A blog post several years ago reported that its owner is a noteworthy Parisian who has had a significant role in the city’s preparations for the Olympics: Jacques Rougerie, an architect and oceanographer elevated to membership in the Academie de Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France and awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit. Among his architectural firm’s many accomplishments is the design of the Aquatics Centre for the 2024 Paris Olympics. This blog post states:
The Amphicar in Paris is owned by Undersea Architect and visionary Jacques Rougerie. It’s a 1964 and he has had it for about 15 years … restored in France. Jacques and I have cruised the Champs-Elysees many times in it, but I’ve yet to take it in the Seine…The boat that it sits on is a Peniche, or French river barge that has been converted to his home and office. Inside, he has an aquarium full of lake sturgeon which you can actually dive into and hang out in a bell. The rest of Jacques’ daily life is equally as interesting.
In my opinion, Monsieur Rougerie’s Amphicar has lived–and, moreover, is still living–a more interesting life than that of its main competitor f0r the title of the world’s most interesting Amphicar. Lyndon Johnson was unquestionably the most famous Amphicar owner of all time, and his hijinks of pretending to lose control of his car/boat and steering it into a lake to scare his passengers and amuse himself are legendary. LBJ’s Amphicar has survived and is preserved in a museum that is part of the LBJ Ranch, now the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.
Alas, LBJ’s Amphicar has not been on the road or on the water regularly for decades and now resides in this corner of the LBJ Ranch’s car museum. It belongs in a museum, as Indiana Jones would say, so there should be no regrets that it will almost certainly spend the remainder of its existence in one. Meanwhile, Jacques Rougerie’s Amphicar continues its active life at the center of the City of Lights, a familiar sight to Parisians on the Seine and occasionally the streets.
Now we must bid au revoir to this bon vivant from the Swinging Sixties that continues to provide its illustrious owner with amphibious fun after six decades. It may not be present at its usual mooring when the Parade of Nations floats down the Seine before the world’s television cameras during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, but we know that it belongs there in the heart of Paris.
Related Posts
Dock and Curbside Classics: Four Amphicars in One Place!
Neat but that water looks nasty .
-Nate
I have always been skeptical of those LBJ Amphicar stories. The thing looks like a boat and has propellers dangling behind it. I can’t believe anyone would be surprised when he drove into a pond.
So, kind of an Amphi Le Car? 🙂
As they said in the “Complete Book of Collectible Cars, 1930-1980” – just the thing for drive-in pool parties.
Robert, it’s great to see your name on the by-line here again, and this is a fascinating tidbit of Amphicar history.
I also didn’t know that the Parade of Nations is using boats this year. For some reason, I’ve always enjoyed watching the Parade of Nations, so I’m glad this year will be an interesting one.