**Country of origin:** US
**Briefing:** Like the original Willys/Ford jeep, the gargantuan, six-wheel-drive DUKW dates to World War II. The designation is an amalgam of internal letter codes – D: built in 1942; U: utility truck; K: front-wheel drive; W: rear-wheel drive – but the amphibious DUKW is better known by a friendlier name: the Duck. Built on GMC's heavy-duty CCKW military truck chassis, the Duck featured a slab-sided boat hull for a body and a single 25in propeller behind its rearmost axle. Powered by a 92-horsepower in-line six-cylinder engine, it tipped the scales at close to 15,000lbs (6,804kg). What it lacked in speed, however, the Duck made up for in indefatigability. Like the wartime jeep, the DUKW proved (figuratively as well as literally) bulletproof. Of the roughly 21,000 Ducks built between 1942 and 1945, a surprising number are still road- and seaworthy. Many have found a second calling as tourist conveyances in cities such as
Boston and
London, but a few serve as adventure toys for private collectors. (The pristine example shown here was part of Auction America's
Littlefield Collection sale in 2014.) Several companies, including the US-based
Chicago DUKWs, offer Duck-specific sales and restoration services, as well as parts and tech support to keep the 80-year-old machines on the road – and on the water.
**Price:** Varies, though the restored example pictured here sold at auction in July 2014 for $78,775
(Credit: Auctions America)