Does your private Batcave look a little dated these days? Of course, you have your gravity jetpack, a stable of flying cars, and a host of other personal craft to get you where you need to go. But these are so last month. What you don’t have is a Navy-approved personal outboard submarine. We are not talking about a speedboat and a submarine. We’re talking about an all-in-one, fully submersible, Bond-style powerboat. Discover Hyper-Sub.
From the top, the Hyper-Sub looks like a futuristic speedboat. Only the curved, fully enclosed cockpit, the racing car silhouette and the exaggerated spoiler suggest something more. As a boat it is capable of launching from most typical docks, beaches and marinas. Two 480 horsepower Yanmar 6LY3-ETP diesel engines push the vessel to a cruising speed of 26 knots (30 miles per hour) with a hauling capacity of 6,000 pounds. By the numbers, it’s as versatile, functional and economical as most other 900 horsepower speedboats.
Beneath the surface is where things get a lot more interesting. In “underwater mode”, Hyper-Sub is capable of on-demand diving up to 1,200 feet. Two electric thrusters propel it to a top speed of six miles per hour. The state-of-the-art design allows the vessel to submerge and resurface almost indefinitely, recharging its batteries and oxygen supply along the way. Using a snorkel, he can even sail semi-submerged. If necessary, on-board emergency systems ensure that the Hyper-Sub can surface quickly even if the cabin is completely flooded. If reversed in extreme weather conditions, it also has the ability to self right itself.
The modular design consists of two parts: the Sea-Frame (including the pontoons and the propulsion system) and the dry chamber (the cockpit and the passenger cabin). Separating these components allows the shipowner to use a single Sea-Frame with an infinite number of uniquely configured cabins. A dry room can be customized for pleasure cruising; one could be outfitted with research equipment; while a third could be armored and armed to storm your nemesis’ lair (note: we couldn’t find this option anywhere in their marketing materials, but a boy can dream, right? not ?). The sky – er, the ocean – and your wallet are the limit.
Hyper-Sub is nothing new. In fact, reports of the ship‘s production date back more than a decade, and the research project itself is older than that. Similar concepts like the submersible superyacht Migaloo have been talked about for almost as long. However, Hyper-Sub seems to be among the first to make it past the design phase – so much so that it really got the US military excited.
With the right Discretionary Income (best estimates put the price north of $3.5 million) or if your name happens to be “US Marine Corps,” you might be able to brand your own Hyper-Sub. Otherwise, you will just have to settle for a boat garage with a speedboat or a submarine. Lame.
