How many times do you wish your 4WD could turn into a boat and drive across a river or a lake – or in my case cut 30 minutes off my drive from Auckland to the Coromandel by swooshing across the Firth of Thames? Well before long you’ll be able to do that thanks to the pioneering work of Kiwi inventor and entrepreneur Alan Gibbs.
Gibbs, inventor of the Aquada amphibious car, has now hooked up with the Madaeen Al Doha Group to supply and assemble the well-proven Gibbs Humdinga 4WD amphibious vehicle.
Via a subsidiary called Gibbs Amphitech, and based in Qatar, Gibbs will supply Gibbs products in the region and other key markets including Australia, Canada and the UK.
“There is a developing global demand for the Humdinga, and we are receiving high levels of interest from all kinds of customers, including governments and private individuals,” says Alan.
“This is the right time and the right opportunity to further the use of Humdinga, and I expect we will see them being widely used in many parts of the world in the near future. This is the right step because Gibbs products are high value and high tech, and we are keen to work with partners who share our vision and values, as the Madaeen Al Doha Group do. The first product we will be focusing on for the region will be the Humdinga.”
Gibbs has locations in the UK and New Zealand, utilising engineers and expertise from both countries to continue to develop High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology and the vehicles designed around it.
Over the last 20 years Gibbs has invested millions of dollars, and more than three million man hours, in the technology. This has resulted in more than 400 patents and patents pending worldwide, making Gibbs the global leader in High Speed Amphibious technology.
The Humdinga is one of the more rugged vehicles created by Gibbs, capable both off-road and on-water. It seats up to nine passengers, with the signature Gibbs central driving position, and can carry up to a tonne in payload. It reaches speeds in excess of 64km/h on water and more than 130km/h on land, with 4WDand twin Gibbs proprietary water jets, transitioning between land and water in under five seconds, at the push of a button.
The Humdinga is a flexible platform, capable of applications from logistics to search and rescue, from police patrols to private leisure. It has been manufactured under license in South East Asia but has never been available to the public, or to such a wide region before.
“The Humdinga is where imagination meets engineering, and is changing the definition of a vehicle. This strategic partnership to produce/assemble/manufacture the Gibbs Humdinga is a significant achievement and a striking example of our concrete work with Qatar on its 2030 National Vision.”
H.E Ajay Sharma CMG, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar, said. “This new venture will enable Gibbs and Madaeen Al Doha Group to reach new markets. It has the potential to generate tremendous opportunities for both parties.”
Gibbs’ high-speed amphibians incorporate a number of technological advances in suspension, water propulsion and wheel-retraction design.
The company’s water-jet propulsion system takes a large quantity of water from the front and discharges it through the rear of the vehicle at high velocity to achieve planing speeds within seconds.
A patented retracting suspension system provides exceptional ride-and-handling on the road, but in the water pulls all four wheels up to reduce hull drag for marine use.
Other vehicles in the Gibbs lineup include the award-winning Aquada amphibious sports car, the Quadski amphibious ATV, the Triski road legal three-wheel amphibian, and the latest, the BiSki road legal amphibious motor bike.
See more here: www.gibbsamphibians.com
