Collection Gift Guide: The Tide is High
December 1, 2003
Gibbs
Aquada
According to Alan Gibbs, the Aquada represents “the biggest increase in
the usefulness of the motorcar since it was invented.” The 63-year-old
entrepreneur says his high-speed amphibian offers millions of beleaguered
drivers the chance to trade traffic-jam hell for the freedom of the open seas—or
at least the rivers and bays surrounding most of the world’s urban centers. It’s
a bold claim of the variety you might expect from a man who has invested more
than $50 million of his personal fortune to develop a new product for a
nonexistent market. Still, considering the Aquada’s extraordinary capabilities,
Gibbs might actually have a point. His brave new craft can drive up to 100 mph
over land and 30 mph over water. The transition from land to sea (or vice versa)
occurs at the touch of a button. And it works.
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Gibbs’ fascination for amphibious vehicles began at his farm off
Shallow Harbour,
New Zealand.
Gibbs grew tired of towing his 30-foot catamaran onto the tidal basin, driving
the tractor back onto dry land, walking a mile back to his sailboat, then
reversing the process to take her out of the water. Gibbs used his company’s
manufacturing prowess to make his big cat amphibious. It was a far cry from
today’s street-legal Aquada, but it set Gibbs on a seven-year journey of
invention. (Click image to enlarge)
The resulting Aquada is a radical departure from existing amphibians. Traditionally, amphibious vehicles are heavy, propeller-driven, hydrodynamically challenged beasts. They lack the efficiency and power needed to raise the hull out of the water so it can skim along the surface. As displacement boats, standard amphibious vehicles must plow through the water. Their maximum boating speed is no more than a walking pace: around 6 mph.
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