The World's First High Speed Amphibious Vehicles Have Arrived - The Aquada, Humdinga, and Amphibious Combat Craft

All of us have dreamed about it - now it's finally here. Take off from a boat ramp, a slipway or the beach, and glide effortlessly as a speed boat across rivers or out to sea. All you have to do, apparently, is press a button and accelerate. The wheels rise automatically, and thrust pushes the Aquada over the water. The whole process takes less than 12 seconds, then you're off at speeds of around 30mph.

Richard Branson has already an Aquada for a ride, across the English Channel. A few years ago, he made it from Dover to Calais in one hour and forty minutes. 'It is a great beast,' he said. 'It drives fantastically well on land and then it turns into the most remarkable boat on water.' Next year, the Aquada is expected to go on sale to the US public at $85,000 or so.

The Aquada was created by Gibbs Technologies, who also designed the Humdinga, a sort of aquatic Hummer.

Gibbs Technologies has announced an agreement to develop a family of high speed amphibious military vehicles with Lockheed Martin, the largest U.S manufacturer of technology and defense products. Pictured here is an artist's concept of the Amphibious Combat Craft, Riverine (ACC-R), a 35-footer capable of 40 mph on the water and 65 mph on land.

courtesy of beenseen.com