We've covered a lot of #WeirdBoats in our time, with everything from floating wooden Ferraris to flying boats used for Amazon expeditions, but the Stratosphera may be the weirdest hull shape of all.
Which is saying something, because you can totally buy a floating metal nightclub with a motor on it.
Italian design studio Lazzarini has graced our pages a few times, but when we discovered the Stratosphera, we had to ask: "does that thing really work?" It does work, in fact, and it's a feat of engineering if you're enthused by the idea of cruising around in a hydrofoiling sphere.
And who wouldn't be?
That's assuming you're ok with the fact it vaguely resembles a WWII naval mine. But on the bright side, it will ensure other boaters keep their distance and don't blast you with their wake.
For those unfamiliar with how a hydrofoil works, a hydrofoiling boat uses a 'wing' or 'wings' under its hull. As the boat increases the speed using its motors, the wing(s) creates lift. That lift reduces the wetted surface and drag of the hull, eventually lifting the boat above the waterline. Once at foiling speed, only the foil, or wing, remains in the water. This drastically reduces the vessel's drag and allows it to avoid some of the pressures of physics -- most notably the drag caused by water hitting the bow as it moves forward. Drag from water is roughly 800 times stronger than drag from air, so removing it provides a massive increase in efficiency. In essence, hydrofoils use the same concept as an aircraft when it takes off a runway. As the airflow over the wing(s) increases, it achieves lift and the foils (wings) adjust accordingly. As a hydrofoiling boat increases its speed and adjusts its angle, it overcomes the drag from the water and rises above it. It's an old concept. In fact, we've been making hydrofoiling boats since before WWII.
The Stratosphera is equipped with twin 150 horsepower electric jet engines, which is a LOT of power for a floating sphere (or so one would assume). Most full-size hydrofoiling boats are significantly longer, wider, and heavier, which means more mass to push, and they rarely pack 300 horsepower under the waterline.
For example, premium automaker BMC partnered with Tyde Boats to design a high-performance hydrofoil which packs 240 kWh of power, which translates to about 320 horsepower. That's on a 49-foot (15 m) luxury dayboat.
The Stratosphera, meanwhile, holds a nearly equivalent 300 horsepower but with a tiny 5'6" (1.65 m) diameter. The sphere itself is made of ultralight carbon fiber and has room for two passengers. That's a tiny fraction of the BMW Tyde-foil with almost as much juice. The BMW Tyde-foil even boasts a top speed of 34 mph as a large dayboat, which means you can rightly assume the Stratosphera can keep up.
In other words, the Stratosphere is probably a very intense ride.
Now here's where it gets even cooler. The Stratosphera has three 'modes' for use on land, water, or in the air.
That's correct. In the water it works as hydrofoil, but it can also be configured as a flying sphere, or as a driving sphere.
If you decide to outfit it as a flying craft, multi-copter propellers are added to the top, allowing it to transition to an 'eVTOL' (an electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft. In this Air Mode, a single joystick inside the cockpit allows it to be used like a small helicopter.
If you decide to outfit it for road use, the sphere can be installed with retractable wheels that, when activated, allow the Stratosphera to operate like a small car. One would have to imagine it would have a similar feel to driving a Smart Car or Austin Mini.
All three modes use self-leveling technology to keep the sphere upright in its optimal position. If you're on the water using it as a hydrofoil, the self-leveling system adjusts the sphere's inclination relative to the water, which keeps the vessel balanced depending on speed and water conditions. For example, it exists to give the sphere the lowest possible center of gravity while underway, which means the self-leveler constantly makes adjustments to the foils underwater as the vessel accelerates, decelerates, or overcomes waves and wakes.
The Stratosphera is fully customizable, as you might expect for such a boutique item, which means you can configure the cockpit however you like. That also applies to how you outfit it for land, air, or sea. The company has even discussed offering even more adaptations that would allow Stratosphera to work as both a submarine or as a snowmachine.
To get onboard this wiley contraption, the sphere has a font-sliding glass door or a rooftop hatch, depending on its configuration (obviously you're not coming through the top in chopper mode). Two plush captain's chairs are inside the pod, along with armrests and full adjustment for both captain and co-captain (or co-pilot). For safety, it even incorporates a Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), which ensures that if one or more motors fail, the remaining systems can safely run the pod (or land it, if you're airborne).
The Stratosphera is set to be manufactured by Jet Capsule, who are also behind the ingenious Floating Motors brand of classic car catamarans.
Lazzarini, for its part, has done some incredibly cool projects like Pangeos, the floating city shaped like a giant sea turtle (seriously), and Plectrum - a 243-foot hydrogen-powered hydrofoil superyacht that can go 85 mph.
Check out the Stratosphera in the video below:
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