There are places in the world where the Aquada could be really useful, such as in countries with poor road infrastructure, Edwards said, but in those places, people likely won’t be able to afford the $85,000 price tag.

"Since the late 1890s, there have been literally hundreds of attempts to build a commercially viable amphibious vehicle," said Gibbs in the press release. "The Magrelen Amphibium built in Denmark in 1899 is credited with being one of the first motorized attempts, while the Hobbycar produced in France between 1992 and 1995 was one of the last."

Porsche built an estimated 5,000 Type 166 Schwimmwagens between 1940 and 1944. Hans Trippel manufactured and sold nearly 4,000 Amphicars during the 1960s. The U.S. government produced thousands of amphibious vehicles during World War II. None were capable of speeds of more than 7 mph on water. Over the past decade, the U.S. military has been developing a high-speed amphibious personnel carrier that uses water-jet propulsion. But its deployment has been pushed back and budgets blown because of reliability issues, according to the Washington Post.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Gibbs is headquartered in Nuneaton in the U.K., but decided to move its production to the U.S. after Rover, the company that built engines for Gibbs in the U.K., went out of business.

Besides Gibbs Amphibians, it plans to open two other companies here: Gibbs Sports Amphibians would manufacture and sell the Quadski, an all-terrain vehicle. Gibbs Military Amphibians would work with Lockheed Martin to produce high-speed amphibian (HSA) military vehicles.

Gibbs Amphibians and Gibbs Sports Amphibians are expected to begin new model production late next year. Gibbs said it has openings in engineering, manufacturing, finance, human resources and sales, and plans to hire more than 1,500 employees in the U.S. within three years. Hiring for key management positions began in May.

Related coverage

Slide show: See images of the Aquada
Does the Aquada float your boat?
Buy a car, and then pick it up in Europe

Detroit, Georgia, Texas, Virginia and Miami, Florida are being considered for the new companies’ homes in the U.S., Clark said. A decision on the locations is expected to be made within a few months.

Gibbs said there is no limit to the kinds of vehicles that can be amphibious and it hopes to have an amphibious minivan soon.

Gibbs and Lockheed Martin already have created a military concept vehicle that they expect to unveil later this summer — it’s called the Humdinga.

< Prev | 1 | 2