First seen in the movie ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ in 1977. Thirty years later, Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht has brought the make belief car to the everyday driver. Known as the “sQuba” it is able to drive on land and submerge at a depth of 10m under water.

The excellence in design has enabled this watertight and pressure resistant car to move like a fish in water without compromising aesthetics. With the look of a sports car based on that of the Lotus Elise, the “sQuba” has three motors located in the rear. One provides propulsion on land and the other two are used for underwater motoring. The engines provide a top speed of 77mph on land, 3 mph on the surface of the water and 1.8 mph underwater. Power to the engines are supplied by rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries making the “sQuba” a zero-emission car.

The absense of a roof was for safety so that passengers could escape easily in an emergency. Although this wasn’t the only reason. Having a roof would have increased the weight by two tons to counteract unwanted bouyancy making it a turtle on land.

The current car which will be unveiled at the Geneva motorshow in March this year cost $1.4 million to make. However, Rinderknecht has said that it would cost less then a Rolls Royce when it hits the market so we assume it will be less then $400,000.

Tags: Automotive, Lotus Elise, Rinspeed, sQuba