There have been images round for a wee while, but finally the Gibbs Quadski is in production, and will be on the market by the end of the year.

The Gibbs Quadski is an amphibious quad bike/ATV prototype, launched in May 2006 by Gibbs Technologies.

The Quadski is a 4-stoke, quad-bike that converts to a jet ski. It features a top speed of 72 km/h (45 mph) on both land and water, a proprietary marine jet propulsion system, and wheel retraction. The Quadski off-road vehicle can make transitions between land and water. The Quadski technologies include 60 patents.

Designed by a New Zealand-based team, the Quadski shares a number of features with Gibbs’ Aquada. When entering the water, by pressing a button the driver can retract the wheels into the housing within the vehicle’s body and detach them from the steering column. The transition time is a maximum of five seconds.

The Quadski’s 140 bhp (100 kW) engine includes a stoneguard-protected intake, which draws in water before directing it through the engine driven impeller, which with the stator blades and nozzle propel the Quadski at high speed. The steering nozzle at the Quadski’s rear directs the vehicle via the steering wheel.

The Quadski allows for two hours travel time on the water. Its range on land is up to around 600 kilometres. It’s due to go on sale towards the end of 2012 in selected regions of the United States with a starting price of around NZD$50,000

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