Amphibious Car

[aniken]

Revheads will lap it up

By Jarrod Booker

September 5, 2003

Move over James Bond - Alan Gibbs is literally launching a new car that could transform city travel.

The former Christchurch entrepreneur launched Aquada on London's River Thames yesterday, featured a vehicle that can travel up to 48km/h on water and 160km/h on land.

The vehicle was developed by Gibbs Technologies and a team of 70 engineers and designers.

Canterbury University engineers played a key role in developing jet technology for the project.

Mr Gibbs, who was born in Christchurch in 1939 and studied engineering at Canterbury University, believes the High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology behind the Aquada is the most significant development in the automotive world since the car.

"Just about every form of wheeled vehicle could be twice as useful by being made amphibious," Mr Gibbs said.

"I see HSA technology not only creating recreation and leisure experiences, but also serious solutions for urban transport issues and advanced capability for emergency services, rescue services, police, and the military."

The Aquada's transition from land to water takes just a push of a button and a matter of seconds. Until its launch last night, no legal road vehicle had managed to exceed 10kmh on water, according to project spokesmen.

Development for the Aquada had been in New Zealand, Detroit, and Nuneaton the heart of the British motor industry.

Mr Gibbs has long been interested in off-road vehicles and and boats and their synthesis into amphibians.

The problem that plagued previous vehicles was the drag created by the wheels as they moved through the water.

In 1995, Mr Gibbs discovered the concept of raising the wheels while they remained connected to the drive shafts.

In 1996 he set up a company to develop the necessary technology.

Gibbs Technologies is a British-based engineering company established by Mr Gibbs and Englishman Neil Jenkins.

The Press

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/04/...2548951575.html

[Zeke]

Well, nothing's ever new - what about the amphicar of the 60's.

Better still, lets see somone make the aerocar of the 50's concept work better than it did (though it actually flew reasonably well!)!! That'd give Plonky, Velvet etc something to think about (if the car they were chasing suddenly took to the skies) Might have to do a quick brush up on the aviation regs!

zeke

[DallasQLD]

I saw this ugly crapster onthe Tv tonight. 150,000 quid for a gogomobile bolted onto a jet ski does not make a revolution

for my $450,000

M5

45' cruiser moored on the coast.

They have got to be kiddding

[Buf-Phoon]

Imagine a T doing 60 knots up the Parramatta river on route to an urgent meeting in town, quicker than the M4/2

[KEN 24T]

Imagine a T doing 60 knots up the Parramatta river on route to an urgent meeting in town, quicker than the M4/2

You'd probably run across a WRX dingy. :lol:

[TURBO4LT]

That wasnt very nice ken , but probably true

[DallasQLD]

Only a New Zealander would try to maket a $450,000 gogomobile to the world.

You could buy a SH Collins Subamarine for that!

[TURBO4LT]

I heard the collins are going cheap , and with low mileage

[ktford]

Great work,

best use of a Mazda MX5 I've seen to date.

Scotty

[Disgruntled Goat]

that's all we need, kiwi's with cars they can drive over water. nothing will stop the migration now :lol:

unless of course they get classed as boat people!