Amphibious vehicles have been a dream but are yet to see a production reality. The closest you get to a vehicle running on land and water is the hovercraft, which is so to say not the ideal car that you would choose to buy. Nonetheless, if you fancy travelling on land and water, the very radical Supercraft might just be your next car. Conceptualised by Chicago based start-up Mercier Jones, the Supercraft is the car of the future that can travel on all kinds of terrain including sand, ice, water and everything in between.
The Supercraft is a two-seater sports car that takes inspiration from supercars like the Bugatti Veyron, Maserati Gran Tourismo and the Audi R8. The vehicle is an amalgamation of marine, aerospace and land technologies. The chassis is constructed out of carbon fibre and chromium with F1 style passenger seats. The Supercraft features side decks similar to that found on a speed boat, while the cabin gets an open-style cockpit inspired from planes. The company says that the Supercraft will be more convenient to drive compared to traditional hovercrafts, as the design allows better handling as well as a higher top speed.
The 2015 Supercraft gets a host of connectivity options with the instrument panel powered by Google’s Android operating system complete with Bluetooth and on-board Wi-Fi. You get GPS navigation, audio system and heated seats as optional. The Supercraft also gets a refrigerator, while owners can choose from the options of teak, walnut and maple for the customised cabin.
Powering the Supercraft is a petrol engine that is used to generate electricity for the two independent electric motors of the drive system. A separate battery pack is used to hold reserve power that can be applied to the motors for quick boosts in performance and thrust. The electric motors power the thruster blades on the side of the Supercraft that help propel the vehicle forward. The petrol engine is also isolated from the cockpit to reduce noise and pollution levels.
The Supercraft has a top speed of 128 km/hr on land and 64 km/hr on water. Mercier Jones hopes to break the land-speed record (90 km/hr) and water-speed record (139 km/hr) during tests this summer. With revolutionary technology on offer, the Supercraft will set you back by a hefty $75,000 (Rs. 44.88 lakhs) and will go on sale on 15th May this year for the ten collector’s edition models, with more 50 units to be manufactured in October. The company calls it the world’s first luxury high-performance hovercraft.
