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It’s a Convertible?!
By Linda | February 15, 2008
I saw this featured on Fox News this morning and thought it was pretty cool.
Building on a legacy of contributions to humanity including the Swiss Army Knife, and the Cuckoo Clock, the ever inventive Swiss now give us the sQuba, a car that runs on land and underwater. And it’s a convertible!
The concept car was developed by Swiss designer Rinspeed Inc. Company CEO Frank Rinderknecht is a self-professed James Bond fan, and admits that the sQuba’s design was indeed influenced by the spy movie series.
The sQuba can plow through the water at a depth of 30 feet and is powered by several electrical motors rather than a combustion engine.
You’ll have to break out the wetsuit, however.
The car has an open top, meaning that the two passengers are exposed to the elements.
“For safety reasons, we have built the vehicle as an open car so that the occupants can get out quickly in an emergency,” said Rinderknecht, 52.
Passengers will be able to keep breathing underwater through an integrated tank of compressed air similar to what is used in scuba diving.
The sQuba’s top speed on land is about 77 mph, but it slows down to 3 mph on the surface of the water, and 1.8 mph underwater.
The sQuba is set to make a splash at the Geneva Auto Show next month but don’t expect to see it at your local dealership any time soon. Rinspeed is in discussion with commercial manufacturers about making a limited number of the cars. The price? about $400,000.
Topics: In the News, Technology |
April 30th, 2008 at 12:33 am
[...] The sQuba doesn’t fly but it does swim! To take a look, CLICK HERE [...]