sQuba ; World's First Swimming Car

Three decades ago James Bond (then enacted by British star Roger Moore) wowed the world with a car that could 'fly' under water in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. Only, it was animation and not an actual scene.

But Frank M Rinderknecht, the 52-year-old automobile visionary and boss of Swiss automaker Rinspeed, has turned a dream into reality with his 'sQuba.'

Rinspeed sQuba is the most exciting thing at this year's Geneva Motor Show and is creating many a ripple.

sQuba is the world's first real submersible car that can 'move like a fish underwater'.

It can dive up to 32.8 feet (10 mt) below the surface of the water and can move at a sedate 1.8 miles per hour.

The sQuba has an open cockpit for 'safety reasons' (so that people can get out easily anytime in case of an emergency). The occupants of the car have to breathe compressed air through built-in scuba masks.

sQuba is an electric car that uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and 3 electric motors for propulsion. It is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions.

The 'sQuba's' filling station is the water reservoir.? It is no surprise that the vehicle features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology.

The first car that could drive underwater was Quandt's Amphibicar, built in 1968. Only 3,878 were produced but many are still being driven on roads.

Then Gibbs Technologies came up with Gibbs Aquada in 2004 which Virgin boss Richard Branson used to break the speed record for crossing the English Channel.

However, the sQuba seems to be the most exciting of them all.

To drive on the roads, the sQuba 'relies on a stainless coil-over suspension from KW automotive and large Pirelli tires mounted on custom-made forged light-weight wheels from AEZ with 17- and 18-inch diameters.'

Technical data

Measurements

Length ----- 3'785 mm

Width ----- 1''940 mm

Height ----- 1'117 mm

Wheelbase ----- 2?300 mm

Track front ----- 1?470 mm

Track rear ----- 1?520 mm

Ground clearance ----- 130 mm

Empty weight ----- approx. 920kg

Performances

Top speed ----- > 120 km/h

Acceleration 0-80 km/h ----- 7.1 sec

Water speed ----- > 6 km/h

Under water speed ----- > 3 km/h

Dive depth ----- 10 m

Engines

Street ----- Electric

Power output ----- max. 54 kW at 4'500 /min

Torque ----- 160 NM at 1'500 /min

Water - Stern propellers ----- Electric

Power output ----- 2 x 800 W

Diving - bow jet drives ----- Electric

Power output ----- 2 x 3.6 kW Rotinor

Batteries ----- Lithium-Ionen

Voltage ----- 6 x 48 Volt

Propulsion

Power train ----- Rear wheel drive

Gearbox ----- R - N - F

Suspension

Chassis ----- Steel

Body panels ----- Carbon Nano Tubes

Seating capacity ----- 2

Front suspension ----- Double wishbone

Rear suspension ----- Double wishbone

Dampers/springs ----- KW automotive

Steering ----- Rack & pinion

Tyres

Front tyres ----- Pirelli P Zero 205/40 R17

Front wheels ----- AEZ 7.5 x 17"

Rear tyres ----- Pirelli P Zero 225/40 R18

Rear wheels ----- AEZ 8 x 18"

Miscellaneous

Air supply ----- 1 x 15 liter + 1 x 18 liter ScubaPro

Laser scanner ----- Ibeo

Lubricants ----- Motorex

BMW Concept Car

BMW X5 - Twin Turbo Diesel Hybrid Concept Car

AUDI V-12 TDI - Concept Engine

Mercedes Benz F-700

The Mercedes-Benz F700 is a concept car produced by Mercedes-Benz. It was first revealed to the public at the 2007 Frankfurt motor show.

The F700 is powered by Mercedes' DiesOtto engine, so called because it combines elements of diesel and petrol (Otto cycle). The concept engine displaces 1.8-litres, and features twin sequential turbochargers, generating 177kW and 400Nm at unspecified engine speeds. As a result, the F700 has performance equivalent to the Mercedes-Benz S350, with a fuel consumption rating of just 53 mpg.

GT 550 - Black Beauty

New Concept Car - BMW Vision Efficient Dynamic

The official world premier will take place this month at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

BMW will never fail to surprise me because every time they introduce a new car it is always a masterpiece.

The new BMW Vision is a hybrid car that has 2 electric motors and a three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. The total capacity is of 356 HP. The car can reach 100 km/h in only 4.8 seconds. And the best about this hybrid is the fuel consumption – no more than 3,76 liters for 100 km. Incredible! Love this car.

First up is a slick 356-horsepower all-wheel-drive plug-in diesel-hybrid concept that BMW claims accelerates like an M3, sips gas like a Toyota Prius and can go 31 miles on battery power alone. It’s called the Vision Efficientdynamics Concept, and we’ll see it later this month at the Frankfurt auto show.

No, Vision Efficientdynamics Concept doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. But the name aside, BMW has a dynamite idea on its hands here.

The EfficientDynamics is a 2+2 four-door hybrid that combines M Series performance with better fuel efficiency and less emissions than you see in many compacts. BMW performs this magic by marrying its ActiveHybrid technology with an extremely economical engine and excellent aerodynamics. The result is a concept car with a top speed governed at 155 mph and a zero-to-62 acceleration time of 4.8 seconds. More impressive, the car gets 62.2 mpg and emits a Prius-like 99 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

Power comes from a 1.5-liter direct injection 3-cylinder turbodiesel engine and an electric motor on each axle. The engine was small to squeeze in between the rear seat and the rear axle, which should make the Efficientdynamics Concept very agile. The diesel puts out 163 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque. Add in the motors and total output is 356 ponies and a stump-pulling 590 pound-feet, though you can only get that much power in short bursts. The car has all-wheel-drive when running in electric mode. BMW says the car can run on the diesel engine, either one of the electric motors or any combination of the three.

The lithium-polymer battery pack sports 98 cells. It delivers 8.6 kilowatt-hours for driving the car, and BMW says the serial arrangement of cells has gross storage capacity of 10.8 kilowatt-hours. The pack weighs 187 pounds and BMW says it doesn’t need an active cooling system. BMW says the battery recharges in 2.5 hours at 220 volts.

All that tech is housed in a body designed with some serious inspiration from BMW’s Formula 1 cars. BMW says the Vision has a drag coefficient of 0.22, aided in part by the myriad vanes and ducts. People are going to love it or hate it, but you’d expect nothing less from BMW even without controversial designer Chris Bangle around anymore.

So far the Vision is just a concept. Still, BMW has made it clear it plans to make sustainability a cornerstone of its lineup, so we’re sure to see some of the technology in road cars before long.