Arab Sheikh Pays $10 Million for World’s First Superbus

An Arab sheikh forked out over $10 million to acquire the world’s first Superbus and fly it to the UAE with a jumbo jet, where it will be used to travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The hi-tech bus will travel the 75-mile distance between the two cities in under 30 minutes.

Buses have never been the most glamorous form of transportation but that has changed with the Superbus, a six-wheeled behemoth that on first glance looks like a cross between the Batmobile and a (very) stretched Lamborghini.

The world’s first superbus was developed at the Delft University of Technology, in Holland, under the supervision of professor Wubbo Ockels, who in 1985 became the first Dutch astronaut to fly as a mission specialist on Challenger’s STS-61A mission. He and his team spent three years working on the Superbus, dubbed the “new concept for sustainable mobility”.

The Superbus is 49ft long (15 metres), 8ft wide (2.5 metres) and 5ft 5in high (1.65 meters), and is built using super-light carbon fiber, aluminum, polycarbonate and fiberglass. It is powered exclusively by lithium polymer battery-powered electric motors producing 530bhp and it’s able to carry 23 people.

Within city space the Superbus will travel at normal speeds, but once it hits the motorway it will switch to a dedicated concrete track parallel to the road and accelerate to 250 km/h. Its aerodynamic exterior also makes the vehicle more energy efficient.

According to chief design engineer Antonia Terzi, former chief aerodynamicist of the BMW-Williams Formula 1 team, the vehicle will “tackle the challenges of mobility, spatial planning, service detail and environmental demands all in one”.

As long as a standard city bus, the Superbus has two pairs of rear wheels that can turn independently, thereby reducing its turning radius.

The low vehicle has 12 gull-wing doors that allow passenger access to cushioned wide seats.

Mr Ockels said: ‘It has adjustable height, rear-wheel steering and a turning circle of roughly 10metres.’

While Superbus is designed to be light on the planet, it’s heavy on technology. The interior of the futuristic-looking vehicle offers the same luxurious features as high-end limousines and private jets. It boasts navigation system, obstacle detection, communication system, fail safe system, control system, airbags, TV, internet, air-conditioning, and the works.

Watch the video of this amazing superbus: