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badass....

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Rockets34Legend, Sep 4, 2003.

  1. Rockets34Legend

    Rockets34Legend Contributing Member

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    I saw this on the news yesterday....

    [​IMG]

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3521626&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

    At last, a Kiwi car that runs on water

    New Zealand tycoon Alan Gibbs has launched an amphibious sports car, the Aquada, which he plans to put into commercial production next month.

    The realisation of seven years' intensive design work in Auckland, Detroit and Britain was unveiled at a London dockyard yesterday.

    Mr Gibbs will say little about the cost of one of the 200 Aquadas planned to roll off the production line at his British plant in the first year.

    "It will be equivalent to a premium-priced sports car," he said. "Think of something pretty good but certainly less than a Ferrari Enzo."

    In New Zealand, the Enzo costs almost $2 million.

    Fifty engineers headed by a team of former Jaguar technical experts have already produced 10 test prototypes at Gibbs Technologies plant in Nuneaton, which is part of the Coventry hub of the British car industry.

    The Aquada has a stainless steel and aluminium frame and a glass reinforced polyester shell.

    Mr Gibbs plans to license the intellectual property to other vehicle manufacturers.

    "Ultimately our aspirations are that thousands be produced ... but by licensees."

    His dream is that the technology will eventually be used for four-wheel-drives, buses or even military vehicles.

    But he conceded that Gibbs Technologies would not know how successful the Aquada would be until the orders were placed.

    "We will find out by test."

    Mr Gibbs plans to bring an Aquada home to Auckland at Christmas to show it off at Westhaven marina, where he will demonstrate how "Waiheke is effectively connected now to Auckland via a motor vehicle".

    "There are seven boatramps between Westhaven and St Heliers. Whip down any of them and go out to Waiheke at 35 mph towing a water skier, hop out at the other end. Drive around the vineyards. Have lunch. If it cuts up rough in the afternoon and you have to go home slowly, you can get on the car ferry and come home that way."

    The Aquada - which Mr Gibbs is promoting as a Kiwi world first - is based on a technological breakthrough by Manukau Heads engineer Terry Roycroft in the early 1990s.

    Mr Gibbs had been trying to build his own amphibian to get across the mudflats at his Kaukapakapa farm when he heard about a wheel retraction mechanism Mr Roycroft had developed for his own Sealander which reduced drag.

    He bought the intellectual property and the two men set off for Detroit to talk 21st century sports car design with major manufacturers before heading for Britain.

    The Aquada:

    The Aquada is powered by a Rover 2.5-litre V6-K series engine. It has a top speed of 169km/h on land and 48km/h on water - fast enough to tow a skier.

    As it takes to water the wheels retract and a jet unit propels the machine. The process is reversed when it reaches land.

    It has a range of 480km on land and about 80km on water.
     
  2. Behad

    Behad Contributing Member

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    So...the Mach 5 can do this AND go underwater....
     
  3. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    "Bond. James Bond."
     
  4. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    That a top speed of around 100 mph. What kind of sports car is that?
     
  5. Bailey

    Bailey Veteran Member

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    A sports car that is a boat too.
     
  6. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    [​IMG]
    Amen. I still want the Mach 5. Is there a more brilliant idea in
    the history of any artistic medium than the Mach 5? I think not.
     
  7. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    and the M on the Mach 5 looks kinda like the Rockets' new logo!!!

    think toyota planned it that way from the beginning? huh? :D
     
  8. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    And jump over other cars, a nice feature when you're stuck in Houston rush-hour traffic.
     
  9. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    well, at least we don't have to rename the thread after derailing it. :D

    Or should I say... after we extended the auto-jacks and jumped the thread off the racetrack?
     

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