James Pond! Moment scrapman turns Land Rover into a '007 submarine'
James Pond! Moment scrapman turns Land Rover into a ‘007 submarine’ and drives it underwater (but he has to hold his breath)
- Nathan Gibbons, 34, drives Range Rover into a pond in Mansfield, Nottingham
- Plunges car into the 8ft-deep pond for 15 seconds before emerging on other side
- He leaves only the duct-taped engine ‘snorkel’ at the top of the roof visible
- Said it reminded him of Roger Moore’s 007 driving Lotus Esprit S1 Wet Nellie
A daring scrapman transformed his Land Rover into a ‘007 submarine’ before driving it underwater while holding his breath.
Nathan Gibbons, 34, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, hatched a plan to make his 1987 Range Rover Classic amphibious after he and friends Andrew Tuffs, 36, and Blake Capuano, 29, drowned its engine driving through a river in April.
The father-of-three was able to plunge the car underwater and drive it through a 8ft-deep pond in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, for 15 seconds – leaving only the duct-taped engine ‘snorkel’ and roof visible.
He has since declared he felt like a ‘rural James Bond’ while pulling off the stunt as it reminded him of Roger Moore’s 007 driving the amphibious Lotus Esprit S1 underwater in the 1977 Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me.
Nathan Gibbons, 34, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, plunges his 1987 Range Rover Classic amphibious into a pond in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
The father-of-three drives the vehicle through the 8ft-deep pond leaving only the duct-taped engine ‘snorkel’ and the top of the roof visible
Nathan Gibbons (centre) decided to convert his 1987 Range Rover Classic amphibious after he and friends Andrew Tuffs (left) and Blake Capuano (right) drowned its engine in a river
During the clip, Mr Gibbons, who extended the exhaust with a 4ft drain pipe, drives his vehicle into the pond with the duct-taped engine ‘snorkel’ attached to the top of the car.
The car emerges 15 seconds later with a grinning Mr Gibbons sitting calmly in the driving seat despite having to hold his breath while the water filled up his car through its open windows.
Mr Gibbons said: ‘It only took five minutes with a drain pipe and duct tape to extend the snorkel. It already had one on there but we wanted to make it taller so it could go right under.
‘I wasn’t nervous at all – it didn’t really bother me. I just said, right I’m going. I held my breath, put my hand over my mouth and nose and I had my eyes shut.
‘It didn’t really feel like the car was moving. I could just feel the rumbling that it was still running. 15 seconds feels like a long time when you’re underwater.
‘For that 15 seconds you feel like you’re in that James Bond car. It’s like a submarine, but because there’s holes in the bottom and the windows are open, the water comes in as quick as you’re driving.
‘I did it loads of times. We were going to go deeper, but I’m glad I didn’t because I wouldn’t be able to hold my breath.
‘Blake had to bail the first time we did it and I nearly did because when I went to hold my breath I did it too early, but when I felt the front end lift that was it, I thought ”we’re on our way out”.
Mr Gibbons and his friend Blake Capuano, 29, head towards the water in the converted vehicle
The snorkel pokes out of the water as Mr Gibbons drives the car towards the other side of the pond
The scrapman emerges 15 seconds later and smiles despite having to hold his breath while the water filled his car
‘I was pretty proud of it. It was just something we wanted to do as a few mates. I can’t believe how crazy it’s been on the internet. I’ve had friend requests from all around the world.
‘The idea came after we were driving down the River Doe Lea in April and they’d dredged it out where they’d built a new bridge, so when it got to this deep part it went straight down and filled the engine with water.
‘It took us two hours to get it out, so I thought ‘right, when the weather picks up the next plan is to go fully submerged’. It was nice at the weekend so we drove down.
‘I’ve seen videos and every time they do it, they either break down or don’t go deep enough but I wanted to get it fully under.’
Mr Gibbons said a more modern Range Rover would not have been able to cope with driving underwater because there are too many electrical parts, but his 80s model was perfect.
However he admitted the fun was subdued after the 4×4 got stuck in the water when a disc axle broke, but they managed to drive it out after around 15 minutes.
Mr Gibbons said the scene reminded him of Roger Moore’s 007 driving Lotus Esprit S1 Wet Nellie underwater in 1977 James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me
The scrapheap daredevil now plans to go one step further next time.
He added: ‘We’re always doing daft stuff. The next plan is to get some pipes so we can actually breathe and then do the full length of the pond. I’d do it today.
‘We’ve got to repair the Range Rover first, but we’ve got a little Smart car and we’re on about making it do a jump in the water.’
Mr Gibbons later shared his footage on Facebook and has since received more than 6,000 views.
One user wrote: ‘That looks brilliant! My landy (sic) can barely make if through a puddle without blowing an alternator! That would see the old girl off!’
While another added: ‘Can’t believe the electricals didn’t cook themselves.’
Another person commented: ‘Lad driving it must have gills.’
Social media users congratulated Mr Gibbons for the daring stunt after he shared his footage on Facebook
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