Someone paid $53,000 for a six-wheeled land/water truck known as the DUKW 6x6 at an online auction earlier this week. Originally built as an army vehicle in the early 1940s, it has since been repurposed as a tourist bus.
The DUKW 6x6 was originally created based on a U.S.-made four-wheel-drive truck known as the GMC AFKWX. By doing so, the tuning company ensured that it would not struggle too much with the maintenance and finding spare parts. The military corps for which it was designed turned it down at first, but accepted it later owing to a lucky coincidence. The legend goes that one of the U.S. coastal guard vessels was accidently grounded, and the crew needed a safe and quick evacuation. The DUKW 6x6 came to the rescue and performed the operation flawlessly, earning it a place in the army vehicle fleet.
The whole machine comes wrapped in metal and uses a 4.0-liter GMC six-cylinder diesel engine to drive its six wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. A separate power takeoff shaft is used to operate the winch and the tire inflator. The hull isn’t armored, but can stay afloat even with multiple leaks thanks to an emergency sump pump on board.
The company proceeded to release over 21,000 such vehicles in 1942–1945. The few still surviving to these days are commonly used as tourist attractions and means of transportation. Their design enables their use in complex land/water tours, so they still have a niche in that market. The example that fetched $53,000 earlier this week was swapped to a 7.3-liter Navistar V8 diesel at some point of its life, and received an AT instead of manual.