sQuba: World's First Underwater Car

A Swiss company called Rinspeed has recently announced its newest project: an underwater car. Named "sQuba," the car can both drive on roads, and then - at the push of a button - dive up to 10 meters (33 feet) under the sea.

Rinspeed describes sQuba as the world's first real car to drive both on land and underwater, thanks to some cutting-edge technology. The car has a steel chassis, while its lightweight body panels are made of carbon nanotubes.

An electric motor provides rear-wheel drive while on roads. Underwater, two propellers in the stern and two jet drives in the bow propel the "amphibious" vehicle. With zero emissions, the design is even environmentally friendly, eliminating any pollution into the sea.

The two-seater also includes a self-contained on-board oxygen system to supply the driver and passenger with fresh air for breathing.

Rinspeed CEO Frank Rinderknecht admits that part of the inspiration for the underwater car comes from the 1977 James Bond hit "The Spy Who Loved Me." The sQuba concept symbolizes the realization of this fantasy that once sparked his imagination.

"And exactly thirty years later this amazing - yet at the time animated - film sequence materializes and becomes reality, in today's world," said Rinderknecht.

The sQuba car will be presented at the Geneva Motor Show, which runs from March 6-16, 2008. However, mass-production of the car is not planned for the foreseeable future.

More information: Rinspeed

via: Oh Gizmo!

   

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3.9/5 after 100 votes

• car - Dec 20, 2007
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  What a waste of time and money.
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• Ashibayai - Dec 31, 2007
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  Not if you're a millionaire it's not. Or if you want to make money off of millionaires I guess...
  
  But to anyone that doesn't have money to create or buy up land that has the sole purpose of making you feel cool by trying to use both the capabilities of this car, however limited they probably are (2mph submarine cruise anyone?), it's a huge waste of time and hardly even interesting as a fantasy.
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• joemora - Feb 16, 2008
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  This innovation can go big if this engineer talked to Sea World and other large scale aquariums. If he does research to make these large scale underwater tour buses to get a deeper and more intimate aquarium experience, there will be funding for research which will lead to sQubas that can travel faster and at deeper levels. Someday we can build mass bridges to connect the continents that go underwater providing another form of international travel. An underwater sQuba international train perhaps. This would eventually generate enough funds to fund Rinderknechts research to make sQubas just as inexpensive as a Honda yet still with the luxury of underwater capabilities, which would be more attractive to consumers. If the sQuba International Transit could be researched to be faster and less-expensive than airplanes, this could be a very big industry. If Rinderknecht discussed this with a board of wealthy stock buyers I%u2019m sure that funding will not be an issue.
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