We’ve been talking about amphibious cars for many, many years. One that can drive around like a normal car, but when it comes time to cross water, folds up its wheels and turns into a proper boat, then back into a car on land. They exist, but not only are they not actually in production for consumer use, they’re usually custom built and very, very expensive.
Well, sorry to disappoint, but we still don’t have an amphibious car. But Gibbs Sports has just announced something close, and it’s quite impressive.
Meet the Gibbs Quadski. They’re calling it the world’s first High Speed Amphibian (HSA) available to consumers. Although “high speed” can be a bit of a misleading term, being so vague and relative and all, their claims are pretty legit here in comparison to any competitors. This thing can hit 45 mph on both land and water. To put that into perspective, previous production amphibians had a top speed on water of about 8 mph.
It’s hits that speed thanks to a BMW Motorrad engine and transmission pushing out 175 hp. Going between land and water also seems relatively seamless; push a button on the dashboard and the wheels retract or deploy in around five seconds.
You can get this thing in five basic colors – red, yellow, blue, silver and black – and it’s going to cost a whopping $40,000 or so. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but definitely a fun playtoy for those with plenty of disposable cash. It goes on sale next month at certain dealers, which will be announced soon, and Gibbs plans to have an ambitious 20 dealerships in place within the next 12 months, plus expand into other markets (like Europe and Latin America) past 2014.
You have to give the team props. This thing looks pretty cool. Would you buy one?
