Motor: six cylinders, 2500 cc Opel Kapitan
Water speed: 10 km/h
The Trippel SG 6 was a Schwimmwagen (amphibious vehicle) developed in the 1930s and used by the German ground forces during the Second World War.
In 1935 Hanns Trippel began to design all-terrain amphibious vehicle prototypes. In 1936 a factory was established in Hamburg for the mass-production of such vehicles.
Instead of a commercial suspension provided with a buoyant vehicle body, Trippel designed a streamlined, tub-shaped body into which the vehicle technology was fitted. The resulting Schwimmwagen SG 6 was intended for civilian use such as expeditions, but from the outset it was clear that the production of the vehicle could only be economical if military customers would order the amphibious vehicles in larger numbers. The first order of 20 vehicles went to the Wehrmacht. This version of the SG 6 was manufactured from 1937 to 1940.
At the end of September, 1938, a Trippel SG 6 was used on an advertising drive from Hamburg to Naples and then across the 28 km (17 mi) water route to the island of Capri.
At the request of the military, a version of the SG 6 was built with an enlarged interior for transporting up to 16 soldiers. This military variant of Schwimmwagen was manufactured from 1939 to 1943.
In 1940, Trippel revised the streamlining and enhanced the detailing of the civilian version of the SG 6, resulting in the SG 6 Colonial Pioneer, but only a few were made because of the war.
Hans Trippel (1908 – 2001) was a German industrial designer, responsible for the designs of the Trippel SG6 Mercedes-Benz Gullwing’s door and the Amphicar.
Trippel was born on 19 July 1908 in the Darmstadt area and died 30 July 2001, in 64711 Erbach / Odenwald. In 1934 he embarked upon a career as a racing driver. In retrospect he is better remembered for the development of amphibious motor vehicles. Also noteworthy is his membership of the quasi-military SA. As an active supporter of the German regime in 1940 when France was invaded by Germany, Trippel took over control of the Bugatti plant at Molsheim. Following Germany’s defeat in 1945, he was interned as a war profiteer by the French authorities for three years until 1949.
