Briton invades France in amphibious car
PrintPrevious cross-channel record smashed
Posted in Science, 14th June 2004 12:25 GMT
Free whitepaper – SPECjbb2005 performance and power consumption on Dell, HP, and IBM blade servers
There is some consolation for distraught Brits today following England's crash-and-burn last night in Lisbon.
Entrepreneur Richard Branson this morning thundered across the English Channel from Dover to Calais aboard a Gibbs Aquada amphibious vehicle in just 90 minutes - thereby smashing the previous French record of six hours.
The Aquada - which boasts a 175 horsepower 2.5l V6 engine and "proprietary jet propulsion" system delivering one tonne of thrust on water - is reportedly capable of 100mph on land and 30mph in aquatic mode. It will set wannabe James Bonds back a cool £75,000.
Branson - who made the crossing suitably dressed in dinner jacket and bow tie - said: "We had to take something back from the French after last night and we are glad that we have exacted this revenge."
It is not reported whether Branson will now offer his services as penalty taker to the England squad, but we can only hope. ®
Related stories
Mach 0.3 milk float goes for land speed glory
Flying car less likely than flying pig
Swiss set to unleash flying car
What Exchange can't do - and Dell can
Enabling the Agile Data Center
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter