Some people are never satisfied. Most prospective car buyers are okay with knowing that their car will serve its intended purpose of driving on or off-road. Others, however, demand more.
It is those demanding customers that have led to some companies introducing cars that have a second purpose – here are five examples of cars that can multi-task.
Rinspeed sQuba
If you’re bored of the land, there’s a chance you might also be bored of the sea – the surface of it, that is. That’s where this comes in…
This is the sQuba, a Lotus Elise-based project from perennial automotive madmen Rinspeed. Introduced in 2008, the sQuba can do what James Bond’s Lotus Esprit from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ never achieved: actual underwater ability.
The concept never became a purchasable reality, likely because the type of customer who would consider investing in a swimming Lotus saw their bank account float down a creek with no paddle upon the looming recession.
Amphicar
As far as amphibious cars go, it’s fair to say that the Amphicar Model 770 is the most iconic example of the breed.
With a surprisingly high production run of nearly 4,000 cars being produced between 1960-1965, your opinion likely depends on whether you see it as quirky 60’s madness or a vehicle that fails as both a boat and a car.
With a 1147cc Triumph four-cylinder engine producing a meagre 38bhp, it wasn’t exactly the last word in dynamic breadth of ability. It also had a maximum speed of 6mph on the water, while construction from rust-prone steel quickly killed most models. The few survivors command impressive prices.
VW Schwimmwagen
The Schwimmwagen was used extensively in military exercises during the Second World War, and was built in droves. 14,000 were built between 1942 and 1944.
In the water, a propeller could be lowered, allowing for forward propulsion once you were door handle deep in the wet stuff. ‘Reversing’ was handled by an oar.
Astonishingly, less than 200 of these Beetle-based, nautical people’s cars remain today.
Terrafugia Transition
The world’s fascination with flying cars is arguably a little worrying. Sure, it sounds like paradise – but some people can barely handle the road. Would you really want them dealing with the power of flight?
The Terrafugia Transition is one of the more explicitly plane-based examples of the flying car – in road-going mode, it looks more like the aerospace equivalent of a fold-up bicycle than a car.
According to Terrafugia, which is owned by Volvo, the first production examples of its flying car will go on sale in 2019.
Gibbs Aquada
The Gibbs Aquada looks rather like a Mazda MX-5, but don’t be fooled, it shares nothing with the Japanese sportscar bar the front headlights.
The Aquada is powered by a mid-rear mounted 2.5-Litre Rover V6 with 175bhp. By all accounts, the car actually a rather impressive achievement, having proven its boating capabilities with a record-setting, sub-2 hour channel crossing in the hands of Sir Richard Branson.
In addition, the motoring press that drove it when it was the new hot thing in 2004 all seemed to agree that it actually did a good job as a sportscar too.