The yard’s name is Autoboot, from The Netherlands, but it’s tough to name precisely what they build: today it is an Audi A4 Convertible, tomorrow it can be a Lamborghini. And a Bmw, an Aston Martin, a Maserati or… just think of any kind of car, provided it’s a convertible, and it can be an aluminum planing boat, 7.2 meters long, with outboard motor.
Actually the name AutoBoat in the title is ours, as a mere translation of the Dutch name. Autoboot debuted this year at the Düsseldorf show, one of the most important nautical exhibitions in the world despite being held in winter and in northern Germany.
You provide
the car, in this
case it is an
Audi A4
Convertible,
the yard
builds the boat
around it, then
you can cruise
at 35 knots with
a 150 HP outboard
To simply explain how this Audi A4 Convertible is made, the procedure is this: they build an aluminum hull, put in the middle a convertible (with no wheels of course), mount an outboard motor with at least 150 HP in the back, connect the cables between engine, steering and throttle (a lever which replaces the gear knob), and install the deck cover. Add some finishing touches to make it even cooler and there you have the car able to plane up to 35 knots!…or, as we’re still talking of cars, 40 mph or 65 km/h.
With AutoBoat you can navigate on lakes or sea, but much depends on how you modify the cockpit. For instance: if you keep the original seats and the floor mats, it’s surely recommended to use on flat water: so on lakes, and not all of them or all the times. If you replace the seats or the fabric with marine ones, and the mats with a teak flooring, then take care of protecting details from the salt, then you can think of using it along sea shores.
This model is 7.2 meters long and 2.24 wide, for a displacement of 1950 Kg. It has been sold for around 100000 Euros. The next unit will be based on a Lamborghini.
Boating is one of those sectors where looking for uniqueness and customization are key points for the success of a boat. Add to this some extravagance, which sometimes helps, and even an ordinary car can catch the interest of a huge number of boating enthusiasts. At least, this is what we can tell after we published the photos on our Facebook page: at the moment of writing, they count over 400000 shares, >7700 reactions, more than 1300 comments and as much shares. For motorboating we’re talking of blasting numbers!
