How the Gibbs Aquada Operates

Part of the car-buying journey involves choosing the features to enhance or personalize your vehicle. In the near future, car dealerships might provide an option to convert traditional SUVs and sedans into amphibious vehicles capable of navigating both land and water effortlessly.

Gibbs Technologies has pioneered High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology, enabling cars to operate on both land and water. To demonstrate this innovation, Gibbs introduced the Aquada, an amphibious vehicle launched in late 2003. While the British firm aims to license HSA technology to major car manufacturers, their current focus is selling the Aquada for £150,000 ($295,110).

In this article, we’ll explore the Aquada and the groundbreaking technologies that could seamlessly integrate waterways and roadways into a single transportation network.

Aquada Basics

Climbing over the side and entering the cockpit, it becomes clear that the Aquada defies conventional classification. You board it like a boat, yet the driver operates a steering wheel reminiscent of a car. Designed with three seats, the Aquada accommodates a driver, a water skier, and an observer.

"It’s surreal because the interior feels like you’re in a car, but the exterior suggests you’re on a boat," remarked Dr. Keith Alexander, a mechanical engineering senior lecturer at Canterbury University and Aquada consultant. "You’re seated at the wheel, pressing the pedal, yet instead of roads, you’re gliding over water."

During the Aquada's development, Gibbs designers and engineers benchmarked the Seadoo watercraft for water performance, as stated by Neil Jenkins, Managing Director of Gibbs Technologies. Designed as a leisure vehicle, it excels in water agility. On land, it is anticipated to drive and perform comparably to a standard sports car, though Jenkins does not specify a direct competitor.

"It handles corners smoothly, offers predictable performance, and stands as a solid example of an average sports car," Jenkins explains.

Jenkins emphasizes that the Aquada’s performance is not sacrificed for either land or water use, ensuring consumers enjoy consistent capabilities in both environments. To gauge its effectiveness against traditional road and water vehicles, we must examine the Aquada’s key components.

Aquada Components

The Aquada is powered by a 175-horsepower, V6, 2.5-liter, 24-valve engine. On land, this engine allows the vehicle to achieve speeds of up to 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 10 seconds.

This engine also drives the amphibian’s jet, which propels the vehicle through water.

The jet is a custom-designed unit developed by Gibbs. During the Aquada’s creation, Gibbs engineered a jet that is both lightweight and compact. It also delivers 1 ton of thrust, the force needed for the vehicle to plane on water. Measuring 35 inches (.89 meters) in length and weighing 88 pounds (40 kilograms), the jet meets these requirements.

Jenkins notes that most jets generating equivalent thrust are twice as long and unsuitable for the Aquada. The jet’s thrust, combined with the engine’s low power-to-weight ratio, enables the amphibian to reach a top speed of 34.7 mph (55.8 kph) and plane within five seconds.

More Aquada Features

Below is a detailed overview of additional Aquada features:

The Aquada also incorporates patented technologies to facilitate seamless transitions between water and land. We’ll explore this transformation process in the following section.

In the Water

Approximately 75 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. A vehicle capable of navigating both land and water could revolutionize current transportation systems. For an amphibian to function effectively, it must float, resist leaks and corrosion, and seamlessly transition between land and water.

The Aquada is doorless, a design choice that minimizes leaks. Its core structure is an aluminum-bonded space frame. To combat corrosion, Gibbs has subjected its materials to rigorous testing. Each component has endured a 2,000-hour salt-spray test, significantly longer than the standard automobile testing period. Jenkins emphasized the company’s commitment to safety.

"The vehicle has residual buoyancy, making it unsinkable," Jenkins explains. "Even if chained to the bottom of the English Channel for a week and then released, it would rise to the surface."

Conversion

Previous attempts at amphibious vehicles often failed due to drag, primarily caused by the inability to retract wheels. Gibbs has patented technologies enabling the Aquada to retract its wheels, similar to an airplane’s landing gear.

When entering the water, the driver simply presses a button to initiate the vehicle’s four-second transformation. The conversion process includes the following steps:

During the transformation, the driver should increase the engine speed to approximately 2,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) to ensure adequate thrust for the jet. By this stage, the jet is submerged and starts expelling water to propel the Aquada forward.

The Aquada represents a significant engineering milestone, achieved through the efforts of dozens of engineers and designers over seven years. In the following section, we’ll explore the future prospects of the Aquada.

Bringing the Aquada to Market

Priced at £150,000 (approximately $295,110), the Aquada is a high-end leisure vehicle, costing more than most cars globally. Jenkins acknowledges that the Aquada is an exclusive product, likely to attract a niche market for the next couple of years.

For roughly the same price as the Aquada, you could purchase one of these luxury sports cars:

*Source of prices: Forbes magazine

"We’re not aiming to compete with Porsche or Ferrari, as the Aquada offers more excitement on water than a Ferrari could in a 40-acre parking lot," Jenkins states.

Gibbs’ long-term strategy revolves around licensing its patented HSA technology to automotive manufacturers, who would incorporate it into their vehicle designs.

"Our goal is that within five, six, or ten years, you’ll be able to visit a standard showroom, purchase a regular vehicle, and find High-Speed Amphibian technology listed as one of the optional features," Jenkins explains.

In the interim, Gibbs is focusing on selling the Aquada. The company is currently working to make the amphibian road-legal. It has already been approved for both road and water use in Europe, where the European Recreational Craft Directive categorizes it as a passenger vehicle and a Category D watercraft.

Drivers must possess both a road license and a water license. In England, an annual Ministry of Transport (MOT) certificate is required starting from the vehicle’s third birthday. However, the Aquada is not yet legal in the United States, as it still needs to address concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

History of Amphibians

The evolution of amphibious vehicles mirrors that of the automobile. Even during the early stages of automotive development in the twentieth century, efforts were already underway to create an amphibian. Below is a list of some of the most notable attempts to build such a vehicle.*

*Sources: The International Amphicar Owners Club; History of amphibious cars