Do you remember the "bionic dolphin?" A single passenger watercraft touted to be every bit as agile as a real dolphin? The two-person Innespace Sea Breacher has arrived.The Sea Breacher is 50% larger than its predecessor (UPDATE: the Sweet Virgin Angel), offers rotary engines delivering 175 or 240 HP, and features a stronger canopy taken from the F-22 Raptor (sorry, stealth technology not included). Portals have been added near the pilot's feet, larger snorkel for deeper dives, and revised V-shape hull.
From the photos it's still pretty compact and looks like a lot of fun. According to the technical specs for the single-seater it can sustain short durations submerged to 10 feet and the engine will cut-off once it runs out of air which should pop you back to the surface. No deep diving here.
I couldn't find any prices because Innsespace isn't looking to sell these to the public but they're happy to lease them for film and commercial work. They don't seem to have any live demos scheduled but you can watch a video here.
[Via BornRich]
UPDATE: Although this story is accurate, a reader comment prompted me to clarify the original Bionic Dolphin is a product of NoLand Corporation and the new Sea Breacher is from Innespace. Similar products? Different companies? Hmm...
1. Noland Corporation, TARCO Research and BionicDolphin.com are currently the ONLY legitimate, authorized contacts for the patented VASH, Bionic Dolphin™ (submersible dolphin, dolphin watercraft) technology. No licensing has been granted for entertainment, exhibitions, rides, racing, manufacturing or distribution at this point. Any claims to the contrary by Innespace productions or any other entity other than those mentioned above must be considered false and misleading.
Posted at 7:25PM on Dec 15th 2006 by Thomas Rowe