DETROIT (AP) — Amphibious vehicles could soon be zooming out of James Bond's garage — or pond — and into yours.
The Quadski — a one-person all-terrain vehicle that doubles as a personal watercraft — is being billed by its makers as the first high-speed, commercially available amphibious vehicle. It's scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. by the end of this year for around $40,000.
Michigan-based Gibbs Sports Amphibians Inc. hopes to sell the vehicle worldwide by 2014.
With its all-terrain tires and four-cylinder, BMW-supplied engine, the Quadski can drive up to 45 miles per hour on land. To take it into the water, the driver presses a button. In five seconds, the four wheels fold up and tuck into the sides. The Quadski can go a brisk 45 miles per hour in the water before a press of the button brings the wheels out again.
"You just drive straight into the water, quite fast, and keep on going. It's sort of magic," the founder of Gibbs Sports Amphibians, Alan Gibbs, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
