A Nigerian constructs Nigeria's first amphibious car

Nigeria's first amphibious car

It might look like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, or a space shuttle rocket, It is neither of this, it however is Nigeria's first amphibious car.
An amphibious car is a car designed to move on land and on water, amphibious vehicles are not new, amphibious vehicles such as the Hovercrafts have been around for quite a while, but when it comes to modern day amphibious vehicles, the car manufacturer Rinspeed is a real force to reckon with.

Rinspeed Splash amphibious car

The Rinspeed Splash car is an amphibious car that transforms from a land car to a boat in less than a minute with just the movement of a gear. As odd as it looks, its real.

This wont be the first time that a Nigerian creates a car, however, this is the first time an amphibious vehicle would be created, this vehicle is not just amphibious, it is also expected to fly!

I remember reading about the first Nigerian car, the Z-600 designed by a Nigerian automobile engineer Dr Izuogo, the car was meant to be mass produced and was going to be the cheapest car ever at a price of $2,000 (#320,000). It would have been a proudly Nigerian car, a car build by a Nigerian for Nigerians...

What then happened to this car ? The dream of a mass produced Nigerian car disappeared into thin air, Dr Izuogu could not get the necessary funding for this car, and had to go to South Africa in 2005 where the government was more supportive of his dream. 

Everything was going on well for the Z600 not until the 19th of March 2006, when armed men broke into Dr Izuogo's factory and stole all the moulds for the car parts and the design handbook, this singular act killed the dream of the Nigerian car, now all that is left is the singular prototype for the Z600 

First Nigerian made car Z600

The Z600 might not be the most beautiful car you have ever since, but it was proudly Nigerian, and yet it failed to receive the proper support from the government.  

Rinspeed Splash amphibious car

Till now, no one knows the fate of the Z600. 

 Its often said that history repeats itself, 

Yet another Nigerian engineer has designed a car that would work on road, sea and also defy gravity, he is also in dire need of funding, the engineer Mr Kehinde Durojaiye Obasanjo claims that the car has achieved two out of its three objectives, all that is left for the car to achieve is flight. 

Here is another Nigerian, that has a dream, but lacks the financial power to fulfill his dream, would we sit back and allow this dream die just like the Z600 ? I hope we dont.

                           

Photographs of the amphibious jet was taken by my sister, Olaitan Alamu