sQuba The Swimming Car!!!

Three decades ago James Bond (then enacted by British star Roger Moore) wowed the world with a car that could 'fly' under water in the movie ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’. Only, it was animation and not an actual scene. But Frank M Rinderknecht, the 52-year-old automobile visionary and boss of

Swiss automaker Rinspeed, has turned a dream into reality with his 'sQuba.' Rinspeed sQuba is the most exciting thing at this year's Geneva Motor Show and is creating many a ripple. sQuba is the world's first real submersible car that can 'move like a fish underwater'. It can dive up to 32.8 feet (10 mts)

below the surface of the water and can move at a sedate 1.8 miles per hour. The sQuba has an open cockpit for 'safety reasons' (so that people can get out easily anytime in case of an emergency). The occupants of the car have to breathe compressed air through built-in scuba masks. sQuba is an electric

car that uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and 3 electric motors for propulsion. It is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license

plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions. The 'sQuba's' filling station is the water reservoir. It is no surprise that the vehicle features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology. The

first car that could drive underwater was Quandt's Amphibicar, built in 1968. Only 3,878 were produced but many are still being driven on roads. Then Gibbs Technologies came up with Gibbs Aquada in 2004 which Virgin boss Richard Branson used to break the speed record for crossing the English

Channel. However, the sQuba seems to be the most exciting of them all. To drive on the roads, the sQuba relies on a stainless coil-over suspension from KW automotive and large Pirelli tires mounted on custom-made forged light-

weight wheels from AEZ with 17- and 18-inch diameters.'

Technical data Measurements

Length ----- 3'785 mm Width ----- 1''940 mm Height ----- 1'117 mm

Wheelbase ----- 2300 mm Track front ----- 1470 mm Track rear ----- 1520 mm

Ground clearance ----- 130 mm Empty weight ----- approx. 920kg

Performances Top speed ----- > 120 km/h

Acceleration 0-80 km/h ----- 7.1 sec Water speed ----- > 6 km/h

Under water speed ----- > 3 km/h Dive depth ----- 10 m

Engines Street ----- Electric

Power output ----- max. 54 kW at 4'500 /min Torque ----- 160 NM at 1'500 /min

Water - Stern propellers ----- Electric Power output ----- 2 x 800 W

Diving - bow jet drives ----- Electric Power output ----- 2 x 3.6 kW Rotinor

Batteries ----- Lithium-Ionen Voltage ----- 6 x 48 Volt

Propulsion Power train ----- Rear wheel drive

Gearbox ----- R - N - F

Suspension Chassis ----- Steel

Body panels ----- Carbon Nano Tubes Seating capacity ----- 2

Front suspension ----- Double wishbone Rear suspension ----- Double wishbone Dampers/springs ----- KW automotive

Steering ----- Rack pinion

Tyres Front tyres ----- Pirelli P Zero 205/40 R17

Front wheels ----- AEZ 7.5 x 17" Rear tyres ----- Pirelli P Zero 225/40 R18

Rear wheels ----- AEZ 8 x 18"

Miscellaneous Air supply ----- 1 x 15 liter + 1 x 18 liter ScubaPro

Laser scanner ----- Ibeo Lubricants ----- Motorex