Jaguars, Minis and even a Volkswagen Microbus could be at your nearest ocean soon
06 September 2021 - 15:36
byPhuti Mpyane
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A boat-builder wants to flood the seas with iconic car nameplates in the near future.
Picture: SUPPLIED
Pick your classic for the high seas between a Jag, Mini and Fiat 500.
Picture: SUPPLIED
A company called Floating Motors, a joint venture between Italian watercraft firm Jet Capsule and the Lazzarini Design Studio, has plans to build boats with classic automotive design in a concept called “resto floating”.
These are not designed as amphibious cars but rather car-like shapes mated to conventional, catamaran and foil hulls measuring from 2.9m-7.4m to shape out vintages such as the Jaguar E-Type, Porsche 550 Spyder, Volkswagen Microbus and original Fiat 500 and Mini.
Still at sketch phase, power will be provided by electric outboard motors, with outputs ranging from 30kW, perhaps for the required slow row on a Mini or Fiat 500, and up to 179kW for the performance exotic inspirations.
Floating Motors has only shown renderings so far and it’s still unknown whether the company plans to use real donor bodies or duplicates or when the first resto float will hit the jetties.
A UK builder also attached a Lamborghini Countach-lookalike body to an amphibious-car hull in 2016.
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Floating Motors wants to float classic cars
Jaguars, Minis and even a Volkswagen Microbus could be at your nearest ocean soon
A company called Floating Motors, a joint venture between Italian watercraft firm Jet Capsule and the Lazzarini Design Studio, has plans to build boats with classic automotive design in a concept called “resto floating”.
These are not designed as amphibious cars but rather car-like shapes mated to conventional, catamaran and foil hulls measuring from 2.9m-7.4m to shape out vintages such as the Jaguar E-Type, Porsche 550 Spyder, Volkswagen Microbus and original Fiat 500 and Mini.
Still at sketch phase, power will be provided by electric outboard motors, with outputs ranging from 30kW, perhaps for the required slow row on a Mini or Fiat 500, and up to 179kW for the performance exotic inspirations.
Floating Motors has only shown renderings so far and it’s still unknown whether the company plans to use real donor bodies or duplicates or when the first resto float will hit the jetties.
A UK builder also attached a Lamborghini Countach-lookalike body to an amphibious-car hull in 2016.
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