DETROIT – It will obtain speeds of 45 mph on both land and water, and transition between the two mediums in five seconds or less. What is it? Billed as the world’s first high-speed sports amphibian, the Gibs Quadski, will go on sale next month for about $40,000 and be built at a 54,000 square foot assembly plant in Auburn Hills.
Introduced at a Gibbs Sports Amphibian press conference in Detroit by Alan Gibbs, the company?s founder, and Neil Jenkins, its chairman, the Quadski is equipped with a 175-horsepower BMW Motorrad engine and transmission. With the press of a button, its wheels retract when entering the water and deploy when approaching land.
The company expects to have more than 20 dealership locations in place within the next 12 months, primarily in the Midwest, New York, Texas and the southeastern United States.
The Gibbs amphibian weighs 1,300 pounds, is equipped with a 15-gallon fuel tank and will be available in five colors ? red, yellow, blue, silver and black.
?Quadski represents an investment of more than $200-million and two-million man hours of work over a period of 15 years,? said Alan Gibbs. ?With the introduction of Quadski next month, our dream of providing high-speed amphibian transportation to consumers will become a reality.
?It?s been a long, uphill battle, but clearly worth the effort,? said Gibbs. ?Quadski will pave the way for a host of other HSAs for consumers, sports enthusiasts, law enforcement agencies, first responders and other commercial enterprises.?
Jenkins noted that Gibbs Sports Amphibians expects to add a total of more than 200 jobs at its Auburn Hills facilities on Brown Road and its new assembly plant at 50 Corporate Drive in the next 12 months. At maximum capacity, the plant will be capable of producing 20 units per hour. The company currently has 100 Michigan employees.
?Although Quadski initially will be available for sale only in the U.S., we expect to find a ready market for it in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere around the world in 2014 and beyond,? Gibbs said.
The new HSA?s BMW four-cylinder, water-cooled engine is considered the lightest power plant in its segment and features electronic fuel injection, a double-overhead camshaft and dry-sump lubrication. Gibbs spent more than 18 months and 75,000 engineering man hours to pair BMW?s Motorrad powertrain to its high-tech amphibian system.
?We?ve created an entirely new powersports category with our patented HSA technology. Quadski is especially designed for families and individuals who enjoy the outdoors, watersports, off-road travel, hunting and fishing,? said Jenkins. ?It offers premium powersports buyers a combination of power, safety, comfort and versatility that has never been available before.?
Designed to meet applicable state and federal safety requirements, the Quadski is 10.5 feet in overall length; 5.2 feet in width, and 4.3 feet in height with a wheelbase of 5.8 feet. It initially will be offered for use by one person.
