- Title: ENGLAND: AMPHIBIUS SPORTS CAR TRAVELS HIGH SPEEDS ON LAND AND WATER
- Date: 3rd September 2003
- Summary: (EU) LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 3, 2003) (REUTERS) SV PULL IN MCU (English) ALAN GIBBS, CHAIRMAN GIBBS TECHNOLOGIES, SAYING: "Building a new vehicle is never easy. Building a new kind of vehicle is exponentially more challenging. What you will see today has been seven years in the making, taken nearly a million hours, employed 70 engineers and cost tens of millions of pounds. In the process we have filed 60 patents and complied with every regulation covering cars and boats in the rule book." SLV TWO AQUADAS DRIVING ON LAND CU/SV INTERIOR OF CAR WITH "AQUADA" ON CAR SEAT (2 SHOTS) MCU (English) ALAN GIBBS, CHAIRMAN, GIBBS TECHNOLOGIES, SAYING: "The Gibbs Aquada is not a car that goes in the water. It is not a boat with wheels. It is this third thing - a genuine amphibian equally at home on water or road." SLV AQUADA DESCENDING RAMP INTO WATER AND DRIVING IN WATER MCU (English) NEIL JENKINS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GIBBS TECHNOLOGIES, SAYING: "All sorts of problems and questions had to be solved, some regulatory such as when the marine regulations tell you to do the opposite of the automotive regulations - which takes precedence? Some mechanical, such as how do you use the same steering system for land and water? And some scientific, such as how do you get a tonne of thrust from a jet pump which is half the length and a quarter of the weight of what established jet manufacturers said was physically possible? We have found answers to all of these questions and a whole host more." SV AQUADA GETTING OUT OF THE WATER TILT UP TO EMBLEM ON VEHICLE
- Embargoed: 18th September 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MIDLANDS AND LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: General,Quirky,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA696ATTJQ4NCXA3R1Y913532AR
- Story Text: Amphibious sports car travels high speeds on land and water After years of intense research and development, a British company unveiled an amphibious vehicle on Wednesday (September 3) that can reach speeds over 100mph (160 km/h) on land and in excess of 30 mph (48 km/h) on water.
"Building a new vehicle is never easy. Building a new kind of vehicle is exponentially more challenging. What you will see today has been seven years in the making, taken nearly a million hours, employed 70 engineers and cost tens of millions of pounds. In the process we have filed 60 patents and complied with every regulation covering cars and boats in the rule book," said Alan Gibbs, chairman of Gibbs Technologies which produced the High Speed Amphibious (HSA) technology for the vehicle.
A former New Zealand diplomat, Gibbs has spent tens of millions of dollars developing the Aquader at a factory in Warwickshire, England. At its official unveiling he said the vehicle can adapt to move between land and water within a matter of seconds at the mere touch of a button.
"The Gibbs Aquada is not a car that goes in the water.
It is not a boat with wheels. It is this third thing - a genuine amphibian equally at home on water or road," he said adding that potential customers could be found in some of the world's biggest cities on waterfronts including London, New York, Sydney and Hong Kong.
The team of engineers on the project faced numerous obstacles as they created the vehicle.
"All sorts of problems and questions had to be solved, some regulatory - such as when the marine regulations tell you to do the opposite of the automotive regulations - which takes precedence? Some mechanical, such as how do you use the same steering system for land and water? And some scientific, such as how do you get a tonne of thrust from a jet pump which is half the length and a quarter of the weight of what established jet manufacturers said was physically possible? We have found answers to all of these questions and a whole host more," said Neil Jenkins, who led the team.
"We have found answers to all of these questions and a whole host more," he added.
With wheels that retract, marine jet propulsion and a speedboat-like hull, the makers claim it will be powerful enough to tow a water-skier. It has no doors, to ensure it has a leak-proof hull, so the driver and passengers must climb into the open-top car.
Once driven into the water, the wheels tilt and fold away and a jet unit at the rear sucks in water and forces it out again at high pressure to drive the car across the surface of either fresh or sea water. The vehicle is not submersible.
It has a 175 bhp (brake horse power) engine and is two-wheel drive.
Gibbs plans to license the HSA technology to other manufacturers to deliver new forms of recreation and leisure, solutions to urban transport issues and advanced capability for emergency services.
The company will roll 100 of the vehicles off the assembly line before the end of the year, with each one selling for approximately œ150,000 ($235,000 USD). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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