12-17-2007, 02:02 PM
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#1
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Rinspeed sQuba: A real white Lotus submersible
...that's not an Esprit.
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The worlds first real diving car with zero emission power
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Is it just a clever computer animation or maybe more a fiction from a Hollywood movie? Or is it actually a real car sitting there? Many visitors to the upcoming Geneva Motor Show (March 6th thru 16th, 2008) will ask themselves just these questions when faced with the new Rinspeed creation “sQuba” - the worlds first real diving car. This astonishing concept vehicle from the renowned Swiss powerhouse for new designs and ideas looks almost like it just came out of a James Bond movie.
Its capabilities not only to drive on roads - and this also at a push of a button autonomously (thus without a driver, passenger or further assistance) - but also to agitate as an amphibious vehicle and to protrude to water depth of up to 10 meters (33 feet) go beyond the scope of many human virtues of imagination.
For Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht the "sQuba" symbolizes the realization of a long-cherished dream and of movie fictions - of which perhaps the most noted out of the James Bond film hit "The spy who loved me". "And exactly thirty years later this amazing - yet at the time animated - film sequence materializes and becomes reality, in today's world", says Rinderknecht.
Definitely part of the material world is the power of the concept car: An electric motor with powerful torque drives the rear wheels. The propulsion on the water is ensured by two propellers in the stern and two powerful jet drives in the bow propel the vehicle under water while diving. With zero emissions, zero pollution in the seven seas of this world. The light weight body with components made of futuristic Carbon Nano Tubes encloses in a streamlined manner the driver and passenger who are supplied with fresh breathing air by the self-contained on-bord system.
A new and fascinating world is opening to the occupants of the "sQuba" which will remain most likely - as its predecessors - a unique and exclusive one-off vehicle. But: Attention guaranteed.
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12-17-2007, 07:34 PM
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#2
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Thats cool, if it works. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be the test driver.
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12-18-2007, 11:54 AM
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#3
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what a stupid computer rendering... it doesn't even have a roof 
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12-18-2007, 02:38 PM
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#4
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^^^ Yes indeed 
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12-19-2007, 09:49 AM
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#5
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on a side note: if you looks closely enough it looks like the driver and passenger are wearing scuba gear?!? 
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"Some say that the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring, and that if you give him a really important job to do, he'll skive off and play croquet... all we know is, he's called the Stig."
The Top Gear Wikiquote
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12-19-2007, 08:29 PM
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#6
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Originally Posted by silentm
what a stupid computer rendering... it doesn't even have a roof |
That's the point!
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02-14-2008, 05:06 PM
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#7
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02-15-2008, 02:22 PM
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#8
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haha that was kinda cheesy but really impressive none the less! 
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"Some say that the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring, and that if you give him a really important job to do, he'll skive off and play croquet... all we know is, he's called the Stig."
The Top Gear Wikiquote
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02-15-2008, 02:29 PM
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#9
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Hahaha, I was just watching the vid with the sound, and obviously Bond-esque, yet not quite, soundtrack made me laugh out loud. (1:35 and at the end) So cheesy...
You gotta leave it to the Swiss to vent their automotive repression in the craziest way possible.
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02-15-2008, 03:32 PM
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#10
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I wonder if they could make one with a closed cockpit. Perhaps they'd be forced to add weight to counter the big air bubble. I'd imagine they'd try to make the car so its average density would be similar to that of water so it wouldn't tend to sink or rise too much.
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02-16-2008, 10:01 PM
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#11
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Im sure the extra batteries hasnt effected performance and handling.
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02-16-2008, 11:51 PM
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#12
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Impressive like most Rinspeed stuff, but not sure I need one. In Brighton, if it wasn't too cold, at least I'd hope to have the Elise's handling to swerve the turds and spunkbags.
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02-17-2008, 12:18 AM
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#13
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Ridiculos
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02-17-2008, 12:37 AM
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#14
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Originally Posted by enzoferrari
Ridiculos
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Obviously, thanks for the post. Who wants it? Impressive anyway.
#
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02-17-2008, 05:26 PM
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#15
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Originally Posted by 79TA
I wonder if they could make one with a closed cockpit. Perhaps they'd be forced to add weight to counter the big air bubble. I'd imagine they'd try to make the car so its average density would be similar to that of water so it wouldn't tend to sink or rise too much.
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correct, the addition of making the car sealed would not only add weight, but the pressure of air inside the car would make the car more difficult to submerse.
I'm amazed they managed to make an Elise float... given that the car they used is at least 3 years old minimum (clearly based on an early K-series S2 rather than later Toyota cars), they leaked water pretty badly back then!!!! 
would be interesting to see it mass produced though
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