Amphibious Sports Car: Gibbs' Aquada Comes to America

Gibbs Technologies' Aquada amphibious car is coming across the Atlantic. Not as a sequel to its crossing of the English Channel, but in a more metaphorical sense.



In the news and on the web:

• "Amphibious Assault! Gibbs Aquada Coming to America"
  FOXNews (July 19, 2008)
  • "You'll have to start looking both ways when crossing the beach, because the Aquada amphibious car is coming across the pond.
  • "It won't be making the trip under its own power, but the British company that developed it, Gibbs Technology, is setting up shop in North America with an eye on the recreational market, as well as military applications.
  • "The slick, open-top three-seater can make the switch from car to boat in under 12 seconds, and has a top speed of 30 mph on the water. It's fast and powerful enough to pull a water skier, and can do 110 mph on the road. In 2005, Billionaire Richard Branson used one to cross the English Channel in under two hours, setting a speed record for amphibious vehicles...."
• Gibbs
  high speed amphibian technology
• "Gibbs Technologies Chooses Michigan for U.S. Headquarters"
  Gibbs press release (July 17, 2008)
  • "ORCHARD LAKE, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gibbs Technologies, the world’s leading developer of high-speed amphibious vehicles, will open a new North American headquarters and product development center in southeastern Michigan this fall.
  • "The company expects to invest more than $13 million in equipment and infrastructure improvements at the 37,500-square-foot facility located on a two-acre tract at 2046 Brown Road in Auburn Hills.
  • "Speaking at a press conference today in Orchard Lake, Neil Jenkins, the company’s president and CEO, said the new headquarters complex is expected to employ up to 250 people within the next five years and generate an additional 270 jobs at supplier firms and other area businesses...."
• "Gibbs To Set Up Shop In Detroit, Finally Build Aquada Amphibious Car"
  Jalopnik (July 18, 2008)
  • "After the announcement earlier this month that Saleen is teaming with Gibbs for development and manufacturing work on their amphibious Gibbs Aquada, news comes down Gibbs is setting up their corporate offices in the Detroit Suburb of Auburn Hills. After a ten year development cycle, a million man hours of work, and $100 million invested in the project, the final steps are being taken to put the automotive platypus into production.
  • "When the boat-car debuts, it'll be the first major amphibious civilian vehicle since the Amphicar went to market in 1961...."

If the Aqada isn't for you, Gibbs has other amphibious vehicles in development:

• Humdinga
  You may have to wait for this one. The Humdinga is a concept vehicle. Think of a Humvee that decided to be a boat while it was growing up.
• "Quadski
  "...a prototype of the first commercially viable high-speed amphibian Quadbike/All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)...."
  

That's quite a lineup: today, a sports car that swims; tomorrow, an overgrown semiaquatic jeep you can use for water skiing and an ATV that morphs into a jet ski.