As all boat owners are well aware, vehicle pissing contests aren’t limited to landlubbers. But the metrics are different: How many feet is it? How many people can you fit? How big’s your cooler?
Should you pull up to the public dock next summer in the Hyper-Sub MSV, you can add an entirely new category: How deep does it dive?
That’s because this speedboat, “with the flip of a few switches,” becomes a fully functioning submarine. The acronym in Hyper-Sub MSV stands for “Multipurpose Sub-Sea Vehicle.” Aesthetically, it’s a brother of the speedboat/hot rod HydroCar. But in terms of practicality, it’s nautical miles ahead of other Frankensteinian vehicular passion projects we’ve come across.
For one, inventor Reynolds Marion launched a prototype called the Fathom for the first time back in July 2007, according to New Atlas. Then in 2017, he was summoned to a U.S. Navy and Marine technology exercise in California, as the armed forces were interested in the vessel.
Now, the Hyper-Sub team is fine-tuning the beast for a slew of world record attempts, from “world’s fastest privately owned, dry cabin mini-submarine” to “longest distance traveled by a privately owned mini-sub.” Looks like they’ve got a shot, as the stats note it has a top speed of 35 MPH (or 31 knots) with a fuel consumption of 34 gallons per hour (yeesh) and fuel capacity of 525 gallons.
As for the first question posed, it can dive down to 1,200 feet and stay there for 12 hours comfortably, though there are emergency capabilities that can extend that time to 96 hours.
OK, so it’s not quite 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But as it can be launched like any other boat, it’s also fully within your purview should you choose to place an order for one.
Main photo via HSP Technologies
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