Do you remember doodling what your perfect car would look like when you were six years old? There’s a good chance it looked exactly like this amphibious tank-treaded ATV that Hammacher Schlemmer is now selling for the princely sum of $US300,000.
It’s the kind of creation you’d expect an evil genius to use to escape their private island headquarters after it was overthrown by a top secret spy, but anyone with an obscene amount of disposable income can own one.
Powered by a pair of 48-volt electric motors the craft can manoeuvre on land using a pair of treaded tacks like a tank, but it’s completely waterproof allowing it to drive straight off a beach into a lake or ocean. Unlike a submarine it can’t dive to the bottom or leave the surface, but a submerged 360-degree acrylic dome provides unobstructed views of life under the water.
Two banks of 24-volt lithium batteries power the craft for an impressive 110 hours while on the water at speeds of up to six knots. And on land it can still be driven for an impressive eight full hours before needing a charge. Before you decide to pick one up for your daily commute, though, you’ll want to keep in mind that these are about as far from street legal as you can get. [Hammacher Schlemmer]
