The Power of Imagination

Did you know that award-winning director Stephen Spielberg’s passion in filmmaking was instigated by watching movies during his childhood? Particularly… (Aww... My memory... I forgot the title!)

Spielberg used to be a nerd as a kid. More often than not, he gets bullied in school, until one day, his imagination was unleashed by the spectacle of an exploding train on the big screen. And the rest was history. Now, almost everybody knows what this man is capable of doing.

The invention of the world’s first-ever amphibious car shares the same story. Rinspeed’s scuba car, to be displayed at this year’s Geneva Motor Show this coming March 6 to 16 was inspired by the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me which was filmed in 1977. The film was about a megalomaniac who planned to destroy the world by creating his own Atlantis - a new civilization under the sea. And of course, Bond had to be there to do his job. Rinspeed’s scuba car’s concept was gotten from the Lotus Esprit sports cars used by M16 agent Bond played by Roger Moore, which main feature was its ability to transform into a submarine. Whew! That was about 3 decades of research and tests. The Rinspeed guys really deserve some pats on their backs, don’t they?

The scuba car is powered by an electric motor with torque that drives the rear wheel. It has two propellers in the stern and two jet drives in the bow that allow the car to run underwater while diving with its lightweight body. Also, Carbon Nano tubes, one of the car’s components sustain the driver and its passengers’ breathing by supplying them with fresh breathing air.

The car can submerge about 10 meters. So an Acura Legend brake caliper would be necessary for this car in case it goes beyond the normal depth.

However, scuba car is literally “for your eyes only” ‘coz so far, Rinspeed has no plans of mass-producing this car-type.

Yet, it only signifies one thing: There’s power in imagination!