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Aquada makes a splash on the eve of London's DSEi
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| 04 September 2003 |
By Peter Felstead, janes.com editor
Launched yesterday (quite literally) and demonstrated on the waters of London's Royal Victoria Docks was the Aquada: the sports leisure incarnation of what manufacturer Gibbs Technologies calls its High-Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology.
Looking at first glance like any other mid-engined sports convertible, the Aquada has, in fact, been designed "on a blank sheet of paper", according to company chairman Alan Gibbs. It is powered by a 175hp V6 petrol engine that allows it to attain speeds up to 100mph on the road. Nothing remarkable in that, of course, but it's when you see the Aquada drive down a jetty, plough straight into the water and then accelerate away at up to 30 mph that you realise that a page has truly been turned in the appliance of amphibian technology.
The advent of the Aquada is the result of seven years' work by a team of 70 engineers and designers. Over 60 inventions relating to HSA technology have been patented.
At the heart of the Aquada's road-handling abilities is a bonded aluminium space frame, while the vehicle's composite body takes all the uniform distributed loadings required while the Aquada is waterborne. The weight requirements of the design have necessarily been exceptionally stringent.
The launch series for the Aquada (to be known as the 'Bond' series) will number 100 vehicles that will retail at £150,000 each. Gibbs does, however, have other HSA projects in the works. "The Aquada demonstrates the technology beautifully, but obviously it's a leisure vehicle," said Gibbs managing director, Neil Jenkins. He added that the other HSA applications being pursued by the company included a concept more suited to military applications. Although Gibbs Technologies will not be exhibiting at London's Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition next week, the fact that the Aquada was launched on the doorstep of the show a few days prior to it opening could be seen as significant. Jenkins confirmed that he had meetings set up with various interested parties throughout the week of DSEi.
Gibbs Technologies, however, will still have some way to go to match the military capabilities of the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) currently under development by General Dynamics Land Systems for the US Marine Corps. That vehicle, though fully armoured and weighing 28.6-tonnes, can attain speeds of just under 30 mph in the water and carry a crew of three and up to 18 fully equipped marines in Sea State 3 to a waterborne range of 121km. However, the cost of designing, developing and testing three AAV prototypes was US$216.9 million, according to the contract awarded to General Dynamics, which certainly puts the £150,000 asking price of the Aquada into perspective.
Aquada
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| The Aquada demonstrates its powerboat-like abilities in London's Royal Victoria Docks. (Photo: Peter Felstead/Jane's) |
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| The Aquada demonstrates its powerboat-like abilities in London's Royal Victoria Docks. (Photo: Peter Felstead/Jane's) |
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| The Aquada has an automatic transmission and can move from land- to water-based propulsion at the touch of a button. (Photo: Peter Felstead/Jane's) |