The sQuba, developed by Swiss company Rinspeed, 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 film The Spy Who Loved Me. The chassis from the Lotus Elise is used as the base for this vehicle.
The sQuba is a zero-emission, 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, utilizing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. 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 10 metres (33 ft), powered by twin electric-powered propellers supplemented by two Seabob water jets. It “flies” when underwater, like a submarine, as it is not designed to drive along the surface at the bottom of the water. The car’s top land speed is 120 km/h (75 mph). On the surface of water, the top speed is 6 km/h (3.2 kn; 3.7 mph) and underwater it is 3 km/h (1.6 kn; 1.9 mph)
The vehicle’s interior is water and salt resistant so that it can be driven in the ocean.
The sQuba was presented to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show on March 16, 2008.
