In nearly 100 years, many remarkable vehicles have operated under the PAX Group name—but perhaps the most striking of all was the Teracruzer, better known as the Swamp Beetle.

“It’s a miracle how this thing moves through the mud. A regular tire would be torn to shreds instantly, but now only a few blades of grass are bent,” said then-driver Johan van der Meer in 1963.

A miracle indeed but that’s exactly what the eight-wheeled giant was built for. Its tires were wider than they were tall, and the driver could inflate or deflate them while driving. No matter how boggy the ground was, with its engine powering all eight wheels simultaneously, the Teracruzer never got stuck—it simply powered straight through. Thanks to these unique features and its distinctive appearance, the vehicle quickly earned its nickname: the Swamp Beetle.

The Swamp Beetles were former American military transport vehicles, salvaged from a surplus dump in Spijkenisse. The original cargo beds and engines were missing, so PAX fitted them with 160 hp Magirus Deutz diesel engines. Each vehicle had a three-speed automatic transmission (plus one reverse gear) and could reach up to 40 km/h in marshy terrain. From 1963 onward, PAX operated a total of five Swamp Beetles.