Gibbs AquadaAccording 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.
The Aquada's driver sits in the center, flanked by passengers.
(Click image to enlarge)
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.
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.
(Click image to enlarge)
The Aquada’s developers attacked the genre’s inherent speed restrictions
from all angles. They used high-tech composites and aluminum construction to
maximize the power-to-weight ratio. They invented a computer-controlled
system that detaches and retracts the vehicle’s wheels, eliminating drag on the
hull. And they installed a jet propulsion system that creates a full ton of
forward thrust. In the process, the team built the world’s first high-speed
amphibious vehicle. The Aquada’s 30 mph top speed over water is impressive
enough. Its handling is a revelation. When the Aquada comes on plane, she proves
herself almost telepathically responsive to minor helm inputs. The hull design
is fundamentally sound, comfortably capable of handling moderate seas. As long
as landlubbers don’t rely on the brake pedal, they’ll find the Aquada a safe,
user-friendly watercraft. Strange as it sounds, the hybrid vehicle would even make an excellent waterskiing boat.
Back on dry land,
the Aquada’s handling further differentiates the machine from its dual-purpose
brethren. Despite the auto industry’s widespread use of hard-wearing,
lightweight components, traditional amphibians are made of heavyweight steel
(mostly to satisfy the military market). To enhance their all-terrain abilities,
the breed is generally built along the same top-heavy lines as a
four-wheel-drive SUV. On-road, these large, lumbering vehicles handle like,
well, boats.
From day one, Gibbs wanted the Aquada to drive like a standard
car on paved surfaces. To that end, he turned to distinguished British engineer
Neil Jenkins. Jenkins, whose resumé includes Jaguar’s XJ220 supercar, fabricated
a lightweight composite body rigid enough to meet the twin demands of land and
sea. His design incorporates a 175 hp 2.5-liter V-6 from Rover and a marine-spec
suspension. While the Aquada won’t blow the doors off a Porsche, chassis and
suspension guru Jim Randle has tweaked the amphibian’s on-road handling to
deliver a modern sports car’s benign playfulness.
(Click image to enlarge)
The Aquada acquits itself nicely on the road. The absence of doors is
understandable, but a proper trunk would be appreciated.
(Click image to enlarge)
Inevitably, the Aquada
contains compromises that limit its utility. The understandable lack of doors
is, perhaps, the most obvious example. (Passengers clamber aboard using the
low-set running boards on either side of the body.) The Aquada’s central driving
position, with its two flanking passenger chairs, may echo the accommodations
found in the legendary McLaren F1, but it is not the most family-friendly
configuration. A proper foul-weather hard top and a bit more trunk space would
not have gone amiss either.
In short, there is more than a slight
discrepancy between Gibbs’ grand vision of an amphibious society and the
sports-oriented offering of this, his “Bond Series” Aquada. It is, in fact, a
toy. Gibbs cheerfully admits this bias, and he is happy to receive the patronage
of wealthy thrill seekers. Even so, Gibbs sees the $250,000 Aquada as a
transitional vehicle. “One day there’ll be amphibious trucks, buses, and SUVs,
all using our patented technology,” he says. Maybe. Meanwhile, the Kiwi
visionary has shown the world the best way to beat the boat trailer blues.
Gibbs Aquada
www.aquada.co.uk
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