DRIVE UNDERWATER
A Swiss company invented a car that runs both on land and underwater. It’s called the “sQuba.”
In creating the sQuba, Rinderknecht thought about a famous movie spy. Which one? James Bond. Bond drove a vehicle that travelled both on land and underwater. Rinderknecht waited 30 years to build that car.
‘’We always wanted to make cars that nobody made before. So we thought, ‘Let’s make a diving car,’’ said Frank Rinderknecht. Rinderknecht is the head of Rinspeed Inc. Rinspeed made the sQuba.
Rinspeed says that the sQuba is the first real submersible car. It travels like a submarine. It can travel on top of the water. It can also move underwater. The sQuba has a top land speed of 124 kilometers an hour. It slows down to about 4.8 kilometers an hour on top of the water. Underwater, it runs at 2.9 kilometers an hour.
The sQuba can travel underwater because of its motors. Rinspeed started with a sports car. It took out the car engine. Then, it put in several electric motors. Three of the motors are in the rear of the car. One gives power on land. The other two give power underwater.
Drivers and passengers can wear wetsuits, however. The car is a convertible.
‘’For safety reasons, we built it as an open car. The passengers can get out quickly in an emergency,’’ said Rinderknecht.
Many people like the sQuba. Others have doubts.
‘’Other than in a movie, I can’t imagine the sQuba will have any real use,” said John Cabaniss. He works with carmakers.
Still, some sQuba parts are necessary for cars. It works lithium-ion batteries. These are small, light, and powerful. They help cars use less gas. Other carmakers are starting to work with these batteries. Rinspeed showed one way to use them.
It cost more than $1.5 million to make one sQuba.
Car experts say that the sQuba is amazing but it is very expensive. “It can be a nice toy for very rich people” says Rinspeed.