Auto Channel

It has been 30 years since we first saw James Bond in his Lotus Esprit Submarine in “The Spy Who Loved Me” which sent our imaginations into overdrive, and now Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht has realised a long cherished dream with the creation of their latest concept named “sQuba”.

The new concept is described as the worlds first real car with the capabilities to not only drive on land but also dive underwater with the use of two propellers in the stern and two powerful jet drives in the bow which propel the vehicle.

The sQuba has a lightweight body and futuristic Carbon Nano Tubes which enclose the driver and passenger and fresh breathing air is supplied by an on-board system.

The only problem we have now is the 4 month wait untill we get to see this astonishing concept in person at the Geneva Motor Show

Press Release

The worlds first real diving car with zero emission power

Is it just a clever computer animation or maybe more a fiction from a Hollywood movie? Or is it actually a real car sitting there? Many visitors to the upcoming Geneva Motor Show (March 6th thru 16th, 2008) will ask themselves just these questions when faced with the new Rinspeed creation “sQuba” - the worlds first real diving car. This astonishing concept vehicle from the renowned Swiss powerhouse for new designs and ideas looks almost like it just came out of a James Bond movie.

Its capabilities not only to drive on roads - and this also at a push of a button autonomously (thus without a driver, passenger or further assistance) - but also to agitate as an amphibious vehicle and to protrude to water depth of up to 10 meters (33 feet) go beyond the scope of many human virtues of imagination.

For Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht the "sQuba" symbolizes the realization of a long-cherished dream and of movie fictions - of which perhaps the most noted out of the James Bond film hit "The spy who loved me". "And exactly thirty years later this amazing - yet at the time animated - film sequence materializes and becomes reality, in today's world", says Rinderknecht.

Definitely part of the material world is the power of the concept car: An electric motor with powerful torque drives the rear wheels. The propulsion on the water is ensured by two propellers in the stern and two powerful jet drives in the bow propel the vehicle under water while diving. With zero emissions, zero pollution in the seven seas of this world. The light weight body with components made of futuristic Carbon Nano Tubes encloses in a streamlined manner the driver and passenger who are supplied with fresh breathing air by the self-contained on-bord system.

A new and fascinating world is opening to the occupants of the "sQuba" which will remain most likely - as its predecessors - a unique and exclusive one-off vehicle. But: Attention guaranteed.

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