The sQuba, developed by Swiss company

Rinspeed Rinspeed Inc. is a Swiss concept car builder and mobility visionary. Since 1991, they have also designed exotic concepts and special vehicles for the CES in Las Vegas, the Geneva Motor Show and other car shows each year, but do not enter into pro ...

, is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water. The original idea by Rinspeed founder and CEO Frank M. Rinderknecht was inspired by the 1977

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' The Spy Who Loved Me''. The chassis from the

Lotus Esprit The Lotus Esprit is a British sports car that was built by Lotus Cars at their Hethel factory in England between 1976 and 2004. It was among the first of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro's polygonal "folded paper" designs. Background In 1970 Tony ...

is used as the base for this vehicle.

Description

The sQuba is a

zero-emission Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, process, or other energy source, that emits no waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate. Zero emission engines Vehicles and other mobile machinery used for transport (over land, se ...

, all electric vehicle which uses three electric motors, one for land travel, two for water. It drives on land powered by its electric rear-wheel drive powertrain, using rechargeable

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...

. Upon entering water, it floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge it. It can be submerged to a depth of , powered by twin electric-powered propellers supplemented by two Seabob water jets. It travels through the water like a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, rather than driving along the river- or sea-bed. The car's top land speed is . On the surface of water, the top speed is and underwater it is . The vehicle has an open cockpit to allow the occupants to escape easily in case of emergency. It can transport a driver and passenger. When underwater, the occupants breathe air carried in the vehicle through

scuba Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...

-style

diving regulator A diving regulator is a pressure regulator that controls the pressure of breathing gas for diving. The most commonly recognised application is to reduce pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and deliver it to the diver, but there are als ...

s. Without occupants, the sQuba will surface automatically. The twin water jets mounted on rotating louvers at the front of the vehicle provide steering and lift while it is underwater, and the propellers at the rear provide forward movement. The vehicle's interior is water- and salt-resistant so that it can be driven in the ocean. The sQuba also comes equipped with a laser sensor system made by

autonomous cruise control system Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is an available cruise control advanced driver-assistance system for road vehicles that automatically adjusts the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead. As of 2019, it is also called by 20 un ...

manufacturer Ibeo to allow autonomous operation.

Announcement

The sQuba was presented to the public for the first time at the

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...

on 16 March 2008.

Prototype and production

The inspiration for the sQuba was the

driven by James Bond in '' The Spy Who Loved Me''. During the thirty years since the movie premiered, Rinspeed founder and CEO Frank M. Rinderknecht wanted to build a car that could move underwater like a submarine. The existing, functioning prototype cost more than US$1.5 million to build. When the sQuba enters production, they are expected to "cost less than a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

", according to Rinderknecht. A production schedule has not been made. Rinderknecht admitted in 2008 that there would be limited appeal for a car that can dive underwater. The car was to be marketed as a "toy for rich people". As of 2021 the "2008 Rinspeed sQuba" was listed as a project on the Rinspeed Web site, with no new information or indication of availability or price.

References

External links

YouTube video

Rinspeed website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Squba Convertibles Wheeled amphibious vehicles Electric cars Concept cars Submarines Rinspeed vehicles