Why?

Why not?

This is the dumbest idea I've ever seen. Probably from the same design team that brought us toaster ovens that connect to the internet. What a waste of engineering talent.

Because we can. . .

Awesome :-D

Joke?
Useless?
Either way, obscure, terrible idea.
Certainly doesn't belong on Treehugger

about as useful as a punch in the face

Really it's an unpractical idea that's a waste of time and resources.

Hey honey, wanna cruise through the river real quick?
I don't know, we are wearing clothes and the chances of there being a convenient incline into the water are probably pretty slim.

As cool as I think the car is, i think companies should be more responsible with the way they spend their money. In the end, the developement of this car will result in nothing.

the zero emission/electric vehicle part of it still makes it far superior to most other cars on the road. Hopefully they release a less expensive version without the Squba qualities.

What makes me laugh the hardest is, why is a Swiss car company doing this? Where in Switzerland would they take it? haha

I love this idea. Practical reasoning may be that it might increase interest in marine life and conservation?

However, regardless of being electric, I'm sure it would still increase marine pollution...

[rofl, mental image of throwing an empty cup out the "window" in that thing!]

Great...now careless drivers can hit whales too.

can't wait til someone dies because of the genius idea to mix electricity with water!

I wouldn't want to dry the thing after a dip...

Hope the seats aren't leather!

So, a tiny Swiss company can make an electric car that will also work under water, but GM can't can’t figure out how to make electric windshield wipers for the Volt. Hmmmm . . .

yeah you can dril a hole in your knee and grow parsley in it too... but I agree, useless. Go swim, go scuba diving. I can see these things bump into presious coral.

this stinks of being a fake:

1. It's quite clearly a lotus elise, which isn't mentioned anywhere in the article.

2. it says its made of carbon nano-tubes, which last time I checked, weren't be produced in any great capacity.

3. Does it also feature remote control, artificial intelligence and pedestrian detection systems? I seriously doubt it. But according to the video it does. Why put that in the video if it doesnt do it?

4. it says that "a self-contained on-board system supplies the vehicle's interior with fresh air." but the car is clearly a convertible, and the occupants are wearing scuba gear

5. It seems to drive awfully slow, except for the last shot, which is clearly sped up (watch the guys head turning)

And on april the first they will reveal it is a joke.

Well, with rising global water levels and tides... I guess there might come a day when i regret not jumping ALL OVER this incredible opportunity. Until then.

So, what happens if the battery dies while it's underwater? I doubt you can charge it under da sea. Still fun though.

The ignorance in some of these posts is both staggering and frustrating.

The sQuba is an obvious homage to James Bond's iconic submersible Lotus Esprit featured in "The Spy Who Loved Me" built by Swiss custom/concept car maker Rinspeed with the help of many technical collaborators. It is a one-off not meant for production, nor even truly useful. It was shown and demonstrated at the Geneva Auto Show this year.

http://www.rinspeed.com/pages/cars/squba/pre-squba.htm

Didn't the blatant James Bond-style cues clue anybody in?

Does this explain why the chassis was BASED OFF of a Lotus Elise?

Aside from the shared Lotus heritage, there were several other considerations that went into this choice of chassis, most notably the open-top design (doesn't require pressure-resistant sealing of the passenger compartment, nor require ballast to counteract the ~2 cubic meters of air that would be enclosed) and aluminum/composite chassis (easier to achieve neutral bouyancy).

Roryok says: "but the car is clearly a convertible, and the occupants are wearing scuba gear"

Try wearing SCUBA gear in a tiny two-seater such as the Lotus Elise. I dare you to find a place for the tank. The breathing apparatus has to be integrated into the car.

The auto-drive guidance technology is real, but not practical for street use as of yet (nor meant to be, remember: show car). The same company that produces most of the laser range-finding systems for the DARPA Urban Challenge (look that up) is also involved here. The "laser beams" in the video are obvious dramatizations painted over real laser range-finding beams. Unless it's pointed at you, lasers are not visible to the naked eye unless you pass it through smoke or vapor. BTW, self-guided vehicles in relatively uncomplicated environments is old-hat. I was building them in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL from educational robotics kits, and my Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner also exhibits ranged self-guidance in wall-tracking mode.

The fact that it is a show car is why it is slow. It doesn't need to be fast. It is a concept/systems integration demonstrator, not a technology demonstrator, and especially not a market-feasibility demonstrator.

Carbon nanotubes are commercially available as a composite additive. Easton comes to mind as a large-scale manufacturer employing it in consumer products.

Louie says: "can't wait til someone dies because of the genius idea to mix electricity with water!"

Should I presume that mixing internal-combustion with submersion is a better idea? Oh yeah, combustion consumes oxygen and outputs CO2. Oh yeah, non-nuclear subs run on electricity when out of contact with the surface. Oh yeah, SCUBA scooters are electric too.

wHY? sO YOU WILL GET TO KNOW THE COMPANY, rinspeed.

THAT IS WHY

CHEAPER THAN A MILLION DOLLAR ADD ON SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

Thank you to "ME" for that more intelligent post. But to look at the broader concept of underwater electric vehicles is that you can completely seal them off from the external fluid. This has many practical purposes for governments, especially military. Currently the most used military vehicle, the hummer, can't go in more than 4-5 feet of water because it has to use a "stove pipe" to draw air in for combustion.

This goes for boats as well. People have been trying to design/prototype submersible boats for a long time but this is only feasible with an electric power system.

The Rinspeed version itself might not be practical in real world situations but the technology/concept is. There are many organizations; military, disaster relief, search and rescue, etc. that could benefit from vehicles with amphibious, or partially amphibious (to float across surface in water deeper than the tires can touch) capabilities. This kind of technology is far from being compared to a toaster with internet capabilities.

As a side note water isn't as good of a conductor of electricity as it's made out to be. The elements in water (salt, iron, etc.) are what conduct the electricity so well.

The idea is simple amazing,fabulous.
keep it up

The idea is simply amazing,fabulous.
keep it up

With a little more effort this car could allow for futur housing in the ocean.
Our oceans are being over harvested, and it is said that they could in trouble by 2025. This type of car would allow for a new type of farmer that
would raise fish, Lobster etc. like we now raise
cows. If you don't think so there is a underwater
hotel for vacationers. O well what should I expect, we put Billions of dollars into sports but can't even give our children a good education.