Q-Branch: Rinspeed sQuba

Apart from the supersleek Aston Martin DBS featured in the latest 007 films, the Lotus Esprit is possibly the best Bond car of them all. It's the infamous 'underwater car' featured in The Spy Who Loved Me, driven by Bond off a beach and straight into the ocean to avoid Stromberg's henchmen. Legend has it that the chairman of Lotus ordered a new Esprit parked outside the Bond production offices, in order to give it a better shot at featuring in the next film - and it worked. The Lotus is, along with the original Aston, one of the most iconic and identifiable vehicles ever. It was just a shame that such a magnificent piece of engineering was restricted to Q-Branch, and could never become reality.

But that wasn't the case.

A Swiss company named Rinspeed has constructed a prototype version of an aquatic car, called the sQuba. It is designed to work equally well on both land and under water. It's a zero-emission car, powered by three electric motors, of which two are exclusively for aquatic use. The car will float on the surface of the water until the interior is flooded, at which point it will submerge (the interior is salt-resistant). Top speed underwater is 3 kilometres per hour, about 1.6 knots. Maximum depth is 10 metres. The sQuba does not drive along the seabed - it 'flies' in the water, exactly like a real submersible. The occupants breathe through diving regulators, and the open top means they can escape rapidly in the event of an emergency.

Isn't it beautiful?

The sQuba has not yet entered production. If it ever does, it is unlikely that many will ever be made - they will cost more than $1.5 million to build, and there is after all only selective appeal for a car like this. But it's still magnificent - a true indication that gadgetry is ever-evolving, and that Bond is more than just a good time - he's an inspiration.