Although animated, James Bond’s underwater car in 1977’s "The Spy Who Loved Me" excited Rinspeed Inc. founder/CEO and Swiss auto visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht enough that he created a real one: the sQuba.

On the surface, sQuba tops out at 3.73 miles per hour using twin stern propellers. The open car floats until the door is opened, letting the water in, and immediately it dives. The occupants breathe through diving regulators from an integrated compressed air tank.

At the moment a concept car, sQuba flies underwater at 1.86 miles per hour and achieves submerged stable flight at depths up to 33 feet on bow-mounted jet drives powered by non-polluting, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

"For three decades I tried to imagine how to build a car that flies underwater. Now we have made this dream come true," Rinderknecht says.

On land it delivers a 75-mph top speed and goes from 0 to 50 miles per hour in 7.1 seconds. Not bad for a fish out of water.

Waterfront: Fast Company

Waterfront: Speed Demon

Water & Wood