Unveiled by the Swiss automotive firm Rinspeed at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, it was directly inspired by the submersible Lotus Esprit seen in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

The sQuba is built on a Lotus Elise chassis and utilizes a zero-emission electric powertrain. Unlike military amphibious vehicles that crawl along the bottom, the sQuba "flies" through the water using propellers and jet drives

It uses three electric motors: one for land travel and two dedicated to underwater screws and Seabob jet drives for steering and lift.

For safety, the car is a convertible. This allows occupants to escape easily in an emergency and avoids the massive weight (roughly two tons) that would be required to counteract the buoyancy of a sealed cabin.

Since the cockpit is open to the water, the driver and passenger breathe through an integrated scuba system with on-board compressed air tanks and regulators.

It features a laser-guided sensor system for autonomous operation on land.

The interior is entirely salt-water resistant, featuring non-slip diamond-plated inlays and mother-of-pearl trim.

While a fully functional prototype exists, the sQuba never entered mass production. The single existing unit cost approximately $1.5 million to build.

In recent years, Rinspeed has released a 3D NFT version of the car as part of its explorations into the Metaverse.