Flipper gets a bionic cousin

By ALAN PERROTT

Rob Innes is dead set on introducing his bionic dolphin creation to its graceful namesakes, but he's a little nervous about whether they'll want to race or get jiggy.

It's a reasonable question; the ex-pat's creation is a jawdropper and attracted wide-eyed stares while frolicking on Auckland Harbour yesterday. The one-of-a-kind, 4.4m submersible will be a star attraction at the eighth annual Big Boys Toys Expo which kicks off at the Auckland Showgrounds on Friday.

It has already been discovered by Hollywood and made a guest appearance in the filmi Austin Powers: Goldmember.

"We can't drive down the road now without someone flagging us over for a look," said the 30-year-old former Aucklander. " ... To bring it from the other side of the world and fly it on our harbour was fantastic."

It's taken three years of tinkering by Mr Innes and business partner Dan Piazza in their Californian garage to tame their "sexy beast" and convince the doubters.

"The last few times we've taken her out we've begun to see we've got something here ... no-one's ever driven something like this before ... people are starting to get a bit more jealous of us, a lot of them used to make fun of it."

The fibreglass and kevlar submersible was modelled on the streamlined body of a dolphin and uses a powerful 110hp petrol engine and five control surfaces to perform barrel rolls, leaps and dives.

It can fly underwater at about 25km/h for up to 15 seconds before the engine is starved of oxygen and can reach almost 50km/h on the surface. A two-seater version is under development, but Mr Innes was unsure when either would become available for wannabe riders.

Creating new tricks for the big boys toy has been a trial and error process. "We're pretty much able to control it now, but for a while you'd do a roll, then stop, rub your eyes and try to figure out how that happened."

They are hoping to find a sponsor so they can make promotional appearances at world watercraft events.

"We're also talking with a television production company about riding with a pod of dolphins, but I might need a couple more horsepower just in case they get a bit too friendly."

Dolphin power

The fibreglass and kevlar submersible was modelled on the streamlined body of a dolphin.

It has a 110hp petrol engine and five control surfaces to perform barrel rolls, leaps and dives.

The craft can travel underwater at about 25km/h for up to 15 seconds before the engine is starved of oxygen and it surfaces, where it can reach almost 50km/h on the surface.