FEB 18

OK, so we weren't quite prepared for the Rinspeed sQuba. I mean...we were excited enough about the Lotus-bodied, all-electric, speed-demon Tesla Roadster. But Rinspeed has taken another, soggier, James Bond-inspired step.

That's right, the Rinspeed sQuba is a zero-emissions, all-electric, Lotus-bodied, speed demon, submersible. And, yeah, that picture (and the dozen or so after the jump) are not fakes...that's actually a man and a woman strapped into a roofless sports car powering around under water.

The sQuba is powered by three electric motors. One runs the wheels, one runs the propellers in back, and one runs the water jets in front that control the orientation of the car. Of course, this vehicle would be impossible with an internal combustion engine (combustion requires air...right?) so they had to go all-electric. Lithium ion batteries power the motors.

The car's entire drive train is watertight up to 10 meters (we assume probably a bit below that as well), and there are compressed air tanks built into the car so, whenever you want to go for a swim, you just drive into the water and put in your mouthpiece. Apparently the roofless design is as much a safety feature as a design statement. Easy escape is always best...

Keep reading for a ton of high-res pictures as well as a video of the sQuba in action.

Via MotorAuthority

Comments (11)

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written by EV, February 19, 2008

Of course, this vehicle would be impossible with an internal combustion engine (combustion requires air...right?) so they had to go all-electric.

Actually, you can use hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer. Late WWII German U-Boats could run underwater with this.

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written by Magnulus, February 19, 2008

Oh, I think MAYBE they chose the wrong angle for their video, considering that you won't be a very successful secret agent if the one-man submersibles are quite literally swimming circles around you.

Sounds cool, but looks just wrong. It just felt to me like it was constantly almost about to sink. Maybe if it looked less like a car, but then it'd look wrong on the road. ^_^

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pointless
written by Daniel Bell, February 19, 2008

this is cool and, more importantly, pointless

I don't see the market for this, but maybe there are more rich, environmentally minded, wackos than I thought

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Impressive?
written by Nagshain, February 19, 2008

I think it's awesome that we can do this, but remind me again why we're doing this?

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written by Bryanitous, March 20, 2008

This is just one step closer to humans living underwater. Is this really good for the environment or is it production of things to aide our survival when global warming gets worse and we're all out of land?

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Soldier, Mechanic
written by Marc Hensley, March 29, 2008

Question, in all this talk about this thing being "green", (it looks white to me), How do you recharge the batteries?

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Many are Jealous of Success Unless it is
written by Jeff Lizan, March 29, 2008

There sure are a lot of negative comments about this vehicle-something that these naysayers would have never had the imagination to bring to light on their own-but then again it must be hard to have an Entrepreneur-like mindset when you have a have a job, working for somebody else or even worse owning a business and running it because your to naive to learn how to get somebody else to run it for you.
This car is an awesome concept that will evolve into even more advanced toys, absolutely genius!

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Shadetree mechanic
written by Kirt Ransdell, March 29, 2008

WOW! That is way cool. Always wanted a car
that floats. Now one that dives to. It has got to
be the best way to get your date in a wet t-shirt
without pissing her off. I am going to start tweak-
ing my gocart out immedeatly.

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Wow.
written by Auto Nerdfighter, April 02, 2008

As pointless and odd as that is, it's completely made of awesome, and it's even on mental_floss.

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This was working in 1977
written by rsdio, May 09, 2008

According to the DVD extras, the James Bond underwater Lotus was actually functional. I don't see how they had room to retract the wheels, or how that could make a sturdy sports suspension, but apparently is was. I'm sure it wasn't a production model, though.

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written by Billy Boy, July 07, 2008

And if you happen to drop below 10 m and the engine leaks and dies... have fun pulling your car back out. Cool car though, no doubt. Awesome!

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