Well before long you’ll be able to do that thanks to the pioneering work of Kiwi inventor and entrepreneur Alan Gibbs.

 Gibbs, inventor of the Aquada amphibious car, has hooked up with US defence contractor Lockheed Martin to develop a range of 4WD and 6WD vehicles using his HSA (high speed amphibious) technology.

And work is well on the way to a fully-fledged amphibious off-roader based on his prototype Humdinga, as well as a quad bike that transforms into a jetski within seconds.

 Although we have covered Alan Gibbs and his inventions before, not much has been said or written lately about his 4WD machines following his link-up with Lockheed Martin and announcements that the Gibbs technology company would be working with the American arms giants to develop military vehicles based on HSA technology.

 However after seeing a truckload of Aquadas on SH18 near Auckland, we decided to find out the latest on this fascinating company.

Gibbs Technologies has spent more than US $100-million and a million engineering man-hours developing HSA.

 It plans to introduce three high-speed civilian amphibians in the United States during the next three years, including the Aquada, an all-terrain-type vehicle, and a larger HSA “first responder” vehicle.

 In addition in conjunction with Lockheed Martin tit will develop military amphibian vehicles.

Gibbs spokesperson Jan Krol confirmed to NZ4WD that one of the vehicles is a development of the Humdinga.

Gibbs’ high-speed amphibians incorporate a number of technological advances in suspension, water propulsion and wheel-retraction design.

 The company’s water-jet propulsion system takes a large quantity of water from the front and discharges it through the rear of the vehicle at high velocity to achieve planing speeds within seconds.

A patented retracting suspension system provides exceptional ride-and-handling on the road, but in the water pulls all four wheels up to reduce hull drag for marine use.