This type of vehicle is designed to move on difficult, muddy and swamp ground with the same ease of a salamander moving in its natural habitat, animal by which the concept and the name are inspired. Its peculiarity are the large wheels with variable section, also equipped with paddles similar to fins that enable them to get traction even in mud and water, just like the webbed toes of an amphibian animal. The vehicle has a 3 meters diameter wheels with adjustable inclination (hydraulically adjustable camber from positive to negative), which permits changing the vehicle height from the ground. This characteristic together with the particularly high positioning of the cab and the motorization allows facing 3 meters deep water with uneven and viscous floor. The steering is double central joint type, in order to allow the vehicle to move with agility in all occasions with different modalities. There is a six-wheel drive made possible by the six hydraulic engines placed on each wheel. The drive is individually managed by a smart electric control on every single wheel in accordance with the grip. In the rear part of the vehicle there is the big supercharged propeller also powered with 100% biodiesel fuel that can develop a power of approximately 2500 kW, and the hydraulic compartment (tanks and hydraulic pumps), that feeds all utilities such as the transmission, the steering, the depth stabilizers, the wheels’ lifting and different other utilities for the accessories. Another important feature is modularity in the vehicle construction scheme: it can be differently equipped for different uses.
With this product, AMV Design won, in 2012, the bronze prize at the prestigious "LotusPrize": an International Industrial Design and Innovation Competition hosted by Hunan Provincial Government and organized by Hunan Science and Technology Department.