Swiss Design Firm Makes Splash With Underwater Car

It was a defining moment in a film genre that was full of them.  The year was 1977, and the film was “The Spy Who Loved Me.”  Roger Moore was driving around doing James Bond things when, suddenly, his Lotus Esprit took an underwater detour and titillated fans.

Fast forward to the present and it seems that the underwater car has been replicated in a fully functional way.  The underwater car, built by a Swiss firm, can cruise on land at speeds of up to 75 mph, as a boat at about 4 mph, and underwater at a meager 2 mph.  In underwater car mode the automobile sports an open cabin for emergency escape purposes.

Perhaps most impressive, the underwater car is a completely “green” automobile kicking out zero emissions.  Putting a damper on the unveiling, Matt Nichols of the Classic Car Club stated, “It might be popular among British drivers in areas prone to flooding, but as a classic I don’t think it will swim.”

Despite its probable non-classic status, the underwater car is sure to attain exotic status. Unfortunately, the creation of the underwater concept car has topped the $1 million mark, so don’t look for it in showrooms anytime soon.  It appears that the underwater car is another example of an exotic car with an unattainable purchase price.
 
The submersible convertible is capable of taking wet suit clad passengers to depths of thirty feet. The CEO of the Swiss design firm Rinspeed that created the sQuba concept car explained the rationale behind the novel craft, “We always want to do cars that are outrageous…that no one has done before.”

As a result of the stratospheric prices for exotic cars, many auto enthusiasts are opting for membership in an exotic car sharing club over purchasing.  The costs of joining an exotic car club are far less than buying even a single exotic car– much less a dream garage full of them.

dfw elite car club (www.dfwelitecarclub.com) in Dallas, TX offers tiered membership pricing for individuals and corporations.  “Several of our members are business people that like to use the cars as incentives for their salespeople and to entertain their best clients,” says Ron Sturgeon, owner and founder of dfw elite car club. “As of right now, we don’t have any plans to add a James Bond submarine car to our club, but we are looking forward to taking delivery of an audi r8.”

Another way to get behind the wheel of exotic cars is to rent them.  While this is more costly per mile than the exotic car club option, it can be a great solution for those special occasions that pop up.  DFW Elite Auto Rental (www.dfweliteautorental.com) offers weekly internet exotic car rental specials for Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.
 
If you really just want to play James Bond for a day, you can also check out exotic car tours.  dfw drive your dream (www.dfwdriveyourdream.com) offers exotic car tours that give participants the chance to pilot five exotic cars back-to-back on some of the best driving roads in the Lone Star state.  Drivers can choose from four different exotic car tours and a variety of tour routes. To see available exotic car tour dates, visit the reservations page. 

Written by G.D. Gregory.  If you are interested in having me write stories for you or seeing my portfolio, please contact me at ggpsu@yahoo.com.