A while back we showed you what carbon fiber could do for tractor trailers with Walmart’s WAVE. And now, thanks to the design team at Mercier-Jones, we have another carbon fiber inspired experiment we thought we might only see in the CGI-ed worlds of science fiction films. Check out the Supercraft.
Water. Sand. Mud. Snow. Even ice. This amphibious automobile has the ability to traverse over all kinds of terrain. And yes, it can even walk on water.
Michael Mercier and Chris Jones, builders of the Supercraft, set out to design what they call, “the world’s first luxury, high-performance hovercraft.” Modeled after an array of high-end automobiles — including the Bugatti Veyron, the Maserati Gran Turismo and the Audi R8 — and while utilizing the cost cutting techniques of the automotive, marine and aerospace industries, the Supercraft is constructed from a handful of superior materials, including, yep, you guessed it, carbon fiber.
Considered a high-performance, high-end material by the Mercier-Jones duo themselves, carbon fiber is found all over their aquatically inclined hovercraft. Likely used for its featherweight configuration and durable design, it shows up as an accent in the car’s interior, as the key component of its thrust intake ducts and, most visibly, as the main ingredient used to construct its body.
“We are pleased to lift the veil on the future of personal transportation,” says Mercier. “To date, there has never been a more agile and easy to pilot hovercraft than the Mercier-Jones Supercraft, so we think we are going to attract a whole new demographic of hovercraft owners.”
One way to attract such attention is to rewrite the record books by beating the hovercraft land-speed and water-speed records — 56.25 and 86.5 MPH respectively — which the dynamic duo are planning on doing later this year. And what with its 250 pounds of thrust — powered by a hybrid electric drive train — its thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.208 — which is better than a B-2 Bomber — and with top speeds estimated at over 80 MPH, it seems likely that the Supercraft is going to come mighty close to making some history.
If you’d like a Supercraft of your own, they’re currently pricing at around $75,000, with a minimum reservation deposit of $7,500. And, as an incentive, “customers can choose a variety of options to make their buying experience personal and unique.”
For more information on the Mercier-Jones Supercraft — or if you want to see the craft in its many luxurious colors — you can visit their website.
[Sources: Mercier-Jones and Hotrod.com]