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-   -   Wonder on wheels:Kerala boy designs an amphibious car (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/21398-wonder-wheels-kerala-boy-designs-amphibious-car.html)

It's a Maruti car that floats in water. No, it's not in a James Bond film but in the backwaters of Kerala.

The amphibious Maruti 800 is the brainchild of a mechanic called Vinod, who successfully designed and modified the vehicle over a period of five years at a cost of Rs 8.5 lakh.And like many inventions, Vinod's amphibious car is the result of a mix of sheer desperation and necessity.
Vinod, however, is reluctant to part with the design details of his car, wishing to first patent it.

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"When the steering is turned or when the drive shaft turns, water does not enter the car. Then there are two engines. When the vehicle enters the water, the outboard engine comes up automatically. We won't be able to see it, but then it starts and powers the vehicle," said Vinod, Inventor.
........................
Probably even the manufacturers of the Maruti car did not envisage the transformation of the humble Maruti 800 into an amphibious vehicle. Though not quite James Bond style, it quite fits into the Indian scheme of things and is a true example of imagination at work.

Source:
Wonder on wheels: Kerala boy invents amphibious car - NDTV.com - News on Kerala boy invents amphibious car

Wow! Shows just how much untapped talent exists in the Indian hinterland. Hats off to the boy.

All I can say is WOW! Yes, Sajo! there is a lot of untapped talent in India.

Who wants to have one...? James Bond?

My grandmother's house is 30 Kms from Mangalore. My mother used to tell me that they needed 1 full day to attend a wedding in Mangalore until the 50s when they built all the bridges. Since 3 rivers separates our village from Mangalore, it involved changing 3 buses and 3 boats to reach Mangalore.

This car would have been a boon in those days. But wait, there are still some island homes in my village who still need boats to visit next door neighbours or the grocery store. For them this could be very useful provided it can be made affordable.

8.5 lakhs on a Maruti 800 :Shockked: for an experiment. Good that it has become successful to an extent & attracted media. Hope he has good days to follow

Here is an image of two islands in my native village, you can make out the two different banks, these are completely independent islands. You can see the telephone cable that connects the island. And they use wooden boats with oars for their daily commute. They can really use an affordable amphibious car.

Photograph taken by theMAG using his N73.

would someone post the link made by a guy in UK and didnt Mr.Virgin drive it across teh thames?

still kudos to the local inventor!

@samurai..panaromic shot?

Check out these links to find more amphibious vehicles
Water Jeep
WaterCar - Builder of the World's Fastest Amphibious Car, Amphibious Cars, Amphibious Vehicles and Amphibious Automobiles

MODS: I think there is a similar thread on this car... tried searching it for the past one hour... But couldnt find it... So... Posting this thread... On the same car's recent trip to sea...

Today... In part of the autobahn 07 work, went to see the Maruti 800 that runs on land and water...

The shop seemed pretty small, and i had gone after reading in the papers that the car was a Maruti800 modified to a budget of 8L. The paper had stated that the guy took many loans and sold his possessions to build this car, his dream. I felt real admiration for the passion this guy had for the work he did... And boy, did it turn out great!

The owner of the car is a very nice man... So humble, and behaved real nicely to us. The car from the front looks like... well... a modified Maruti 800... But looks are not what the car is all about...

This Maruti 800 can run in water, and boy does it do that in style. The guy showed us the DVD of the whole ocean trip. And we were all just spellbound.

The interiors seemed very nicely modded. I did notice something like a roll cage, and also the materials seemed like washable type plastics. All the external panel gaps were insulated. and as a whole, it must be said that work is nothing short of genius, for a guy not associated with the automobile industry, and runs a refrigerator repairing unit.

Although the car got media attention earlier when he did a demo for the car, he got a bit of the attention he derserved when he did a trip into the open sea.

Not spoiling your enthusiasm with my poor writing skills...

Also, All kerala team-bhp'ians wanting to see the car... You can do so at Autobahn 07... Thread on it is available here... More details on Autobahn07 are available here...

The pics...






PS: Anyone/companies willing to sponsor this genius of a guy, please PM... The guy sure could use some support...

Very nice. Can't wait for more details.

Yup very intelligent guy,but need more pics on this and info please

This car was first showed in some TV channels and then very recently grabbed a lot of attention after doing it's round in open sea.

A great job. He has given a lot of effort behind this car.

Why only KERALA BHPians??? Invite all India. Everybody will be equally excited to catch a glimpse of the car.:D

The technical details... Unfortunately, i cant comment on that...

To be frank, i dont know much also...

Intelligent... Not exactly... Much above that, from what i felt...

The guy owns a refrigerator/ac repairing shops... Also does some paint work on cars... His educational qualification in diploma in electronics (Sorry if am wrong here... Remember reading it from the papers... And he is not financially sound either...

But its his pure passion for the work thats amazing...

yes of course...

BHP'ians from all over India are invited...



Pic... crowd eager to see the car after the trip...