A research company in the UK has developed an amphibian vehicle that can achieve fast speeds on both land and on water, which is expected to be released later this year. Not that it will make a big impact on the lives of city dwellers, but if you live on an island you're sorted.
The vehicle, which has not yet been given a name, was built by Gibbs Technologies, based in Nuneaton in Warwickshire, and the big drawcard for the car is that while most other amphibian vehicles can set reasonable road speeds, they are unable to convert that speed to water, rarely achieving speeds in excess of 16 km/h. The new car can do 160 km/h on the road, and a staggering 56 km/h on a flat water surface. Neil Jenkins, the managing director of Gibbs Technologies, told the New Scientist that his car is definitely a peg above the rest.
"All other amphibious cars can go and thrash about in the water at a few miles per hour - this can perform as well as a speedboat," he said.
As yet the car has no price tag and just as well - it has unique features such as retractable wheels and a water jet propulsion system which should ensure only the wealthy get a crack at it. According to Jenkins, the car only requires a single switch to prepare it for use on water.
A motorboat expert for the UK Royal Yacht Association - Andrew Norton - said the car is most likely to appeal to rich boating enthusiasts.
"It's an interesting project," he told New Scientist. "I should imagine if you have a house on an island, this could be another toy to go with the helicopter and everything else."
Norton warned, however, that salt water corrosion is a major difficulty that amphibian vehicles face, and that they require frequent servicing. He also said that despite the high recorded speeds of the new car on water, these were probably only recorded in optimum conditions.
"I suspect it could only do this in very flat water because of the hull shape," he said.
Now if they could just work out a way to make the damn thing affordable.....
