GENEVA — OK, so the Swiss have invented a car that runs on land and underwater. But did they really have to make it a convertible?
It's called the "sQuba," and conjures up memories of James Bond's amphibious Lotus Esprit from "The Spy Who Loved Me." That fictional vehicle traveled on land and, when chased by bad guys in a helicopter, plunged into the water and became a water-tight submarine — complete with "torpedoes" and "depth charges."
But "Q" isn't responsible for this one.
The concept car — which unlike Bond's is not armed — was developed by Swiss designer Rinspeed Inc. and is set to make a splash at the Geneva Auto Show next month.
Company CEO Frank Rinderknecht, a Bond fan, said he has been waiting 30 years to re-create the car he saw Roger Moore drive off a dock.
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The sQuba can plow through the water at 30 feet and has electrical motors to turn the underwater screw.
But you'll have to break out the wet suit.
The car has an open top, meaning the driver and passenger 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.
The sQuba's top speed on land is about 77 mph, but it slows to 3 mph on the surface of the water and 1.8 mph underwater.
Working with engineering specialists, Rinspeed removed the combustion engine from a sports car and replaced it with several electrical motors.
Three are in the rear — er, aft — with one providing propulsion on land and the other two driving the screw for underwater driving.
"We always want to do cars that are outrageous, which nobody has done before. So we thought, 'Let's make a car dive,' " said Rinderknecht, whose innovative company has made transparent, flying and voice-activated cars in previous attention-grabbing displays at the Geneva Auto Show.
Unlike military amphibious vehicles, which can only drive slowly on a lakebed, the sQuba travels like a submarine — either on the surface or submerged. The interior is resistant to salt water.
Rinspeed is in discussion with commercial manufacturers about making a limited number of the cars. The price? "It would be cheaper than a Rolls-Royce," he said.
