Waterborne Cars Are Go

16 November 2008 – New Zealand entrepreneur Alan Gibbs, 69, has opened an amphibious vehicle engineering and research centre for his firm, Gibbs Technologies in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Gibbs previewed two of his company’s first three vehicles before an audience of press and politicians. The first vehicle to hit the market – sometime next year – will be the Quadski, a combination four-wheel off-road vehicle and jet-ski. It will reach 40 mph on both land and water. Next, in 2010, comes the Aquada, a three-seat convertible sports car powered by a 175-hp six-cylinder engine that will do 110 mph on the highway and 40 mph as a speedboat able to tow a skier. “Push a button on the dash panel, drive straight into the water and you can drive into the water at 10 or 15 miles an hour,” Gibbs said. He is also working on a third vehicle, now jokingly called the “Humdinger” in homage to the Humvee. It’s a large, Humvee-styled truck intended for the military and civilian first responders that will go 40 mph on either land or water.