New Zealand Entrepreneur Launches Amphibious Trucks

Amphitrucks capable of traveling up to 130km/h on land and over 60km/h on water were launched in Washington today.

US military engineers and invited guests were the first in the world to see the “Phibian” in action at an event preceding the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) annual conference yesterday.

The ‘Phibian’ is the fourth high speed amphibious vehicle demonstrated by Gibbs Technologies. It compliments the smaller all-terrain Humdinga which was also disclosed at the conference. Both vehicles feature Gibbs’ proprietary High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology which incorporates major engineering and design advancements in suspension, water propulsion and wheel-retraction.

Gibbs Technologies is the world’s only developer of road legal high-speed amphibious vehicles for consumer, commercial, military and first rescue use.

In 2004 Richard Branson set a new record for crossing the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle in a Gibbs Aquada reducing the time by over four hours.

Since then Gibbs has focused on further developing his High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology which is the result of fifteen years, more than $200 million and more than two million hours of engineering time.

Constructed primarily of strong, lightweight carbon fibre, the Phibian offers all-terrain capability on land. When transitioning from land to water, the wheels retract and dual jet propulsion provides high speed water performance equal to that of purpose-built patrol and rescue boats, effectively combining boat, truck and trailer.

It has been developed for general transport, search and rescue and law enforcement operations.

“When conducting search and rescue missions, whether it be for an individual or following a natural disaster, time is of the essence,” says, Gibbs

“A vehicle that can perform as well as a multi-terrain vehicle on land while reaching planing speeds on the water means that response will be significantly faster and more seamless.”

Alan Gibbs is one of New Zealand’s most successful entrepreneurs. He built his first amphibious vehicle in 1995 so he could drive his boat from the water to his bach without the need for a trailer. He went on to form Gibbs Technologies in 1996. They have continuously improved the technology, acquiring over 100 patents since then.

“Natural disasters in recent memory, such as the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and elsewhere in Asia; as well as the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the floods in Australia illustrate the need for amphibians as capable, versatile and efficient as Phibian and Humdinga,” Gibbs said.