In the The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore speeds underwater in his Lotus to elude a villain. That kind of amphibious dexterity might soon be a reality. The Swiss car developer Rinspeed has created the world's first submersible car, the sQuba, and will unveil the modern marvel at the Geneva Auto Show, which begins on March 6. 

Rinspeed CEO Frank Rinderknecht says his obsession with James Bond inspired the sQuba concept car. In fact, he'd wanted to create it ever since the film came out in 1977. The sQuba's chassis is even modeled after the Lotus.

The carmaker removed the vehicle's combustion engine and replaced it with three electric motors. One propels the car on land and the other two are for underwater driving. The car will float if driven into water, with two rear propellers thrusting it forward. But when a door is opened (there are no windows), it submerges itself. The engines take in water through the car's front grill and push it out through side vents. Two jets, mounted on swiveling heads in the front of the vehicle, maneuver the car. Lithium-Ion batteries power the sQuba, which can stay underwater for up to two hours. On land, the car can even drive itself with its high-tech laser sensor system.

Since the car is roofless, occupants should expect to get a little wet. Rinspeed built it to be open-topped so that occupants could exit the vehicle quickly in an emergency. Passengers will breathe underwater through a tank of compressed air similar to what scuba divers use. The sQuba has a top speed of 77 miles per hour on land, as a boat it moves at 3 mph, and underwater it slows down to 1.8 mph.

Rinderknecht said that the only sQuba in existence cost more than $1.5 million to create. Making a car watertight and pressure-resistant enough to be maneuverable underwater was difficult, he said. Rinspeed is in talks with commercial car manufacturers about making a limited number of sQubas. It'll be cheaper than a Rolls Royce, according to Rinderknecht; A 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe is going for more than $400,000.

Rinspeed, a concept car company, has made glass, flying and expandable cars in past auto shows. Rinderknecht and other 007 fanatics would probably agree that this is their best yet. There's not better way to arrive at the Monte Carlo in style.  -- BRANDON FELDMAN

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