First submarine car to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show

[Woodmonkey]

First submarine car to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show

A car that can be driven underwater is set to be unveiled next month at the International Geneva Motor Show, the Swiss manufacturer of the prototype announced on Friday.

The 'Squba' is like something out of a James Bond film and, according to the manufacturer Rinspeed, is the world's first real submersible car.

Rinspeed's head, Frank Rinderknecht, is a James Bond enthusiast who has dreamed of making the amphibious vehicle come true.

"For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water," said Rinderknecht in a statement. "Now we have made this dream come true."

The convertible sports car transforms into an underwater vehicle in which passengers breathe with the help of compressed air masks.

"It is undoubtedly not an easy task to make a car watertight and pressure resistant enough to be maneuverable under water," said Rinderknecht. "The real challenge however was to create a submersible car that moves like a fish in water."

Propelled by electric motors, the car can descend up to 10 metres (32.8 feet) underwater.

Aesthetic appeal aside, the open-top design of the car is actually a safety feature that permits passengers to get out quickly during an emergency and avert the problem of excessive water pressure on the windows of a closed car.

The invention will be presented at the car show in Geneva, which opens to the press March 4 and runs for the public from March 6 through March 16.

Rinspeed was not available Friday to specify the sale price of the new model.

The Source

[john mclaughlin]

hi ,i saw that video for that thing,what if your air tank runs out and you have to hold your air in till it makes it back up.or you run over a bigcatfish and have damage so you have to leave it under?jellyfish!

[Old Fart]

Might come in handy during hurricane season.

[redtanker]

I cant see it being practical.....the underwater enviroment is rarely easy to navigate much less free of plants, holes, rocks and more

[john mclaughlin]

how much cocaine can that thing haul?WE CAN SET UP ADEALERSHIP IN COLUMBIA!

[sabadgeman]

Oh dear there goes the last pristine (Well to a degree) part of our world. Red T you had better get your butt in gear and dive the Caribbean boy before it becomes the new drugs super highway!

[Anth]

Its a prototype - very few prototypes and concepts actually go into production. The guy says that it was fairly difficult to get it fully watertight. On a mass production vehicle, you don't want things to be too difficult. Just think of the quality testing that would need to be done on it too - insurance companies won't be too happy if theres a slight nick in the seals from fitting.

Chances are that it will either not go into full production, or if it does it will be like the Bugatti Veyron - a rich boys play thing that costs more to build than it actually sells for (Veyron costs over £1m to make, sells for £800,000).