(VIDEO) An electric Toyota Land Cruiser J40 drove 7 km underwater, on the bottom of the sea, setting a world record

What we see in the images below is a classic 1978 Toyota Land Cruiser that has been converted to electric propulsion in order to set the world record for the longest underwater journey! And he just achieved this record, after driving 7 km underwater, near the coast of Australia!

It seems unnatural to think of an electric car that would completely submerge itself in water and move along the bottom of the sea, but in fact an electric car can be insulated much more easily from water penetration, and subsequently it does not need of oxygen going forward, unlike internal combustion machines, which would need the intake to be raised all the way above the water. Precisely for this reason, the authors of this idea chose a classic Land Cruiser, from the J40 series, to have forward capabilities, but they converted it to electric propulsion.

And their idea was to complete a crazy attempt 40 years ago, when a group of young Australians tried to cross a 7 km stretch between two ends of Darwin Harbour.

Photo: Image from the test 40 years ago.

Then the young people equipped the car with long, 60-meter hoses for intake and exhaust, but halfway through they got stuck irreversibly and abandoned the mission. Now, having the same starting and finishing points as a target, the authors of the idea wanted to finally mark this world record that has been waiting for the achievement for so long.

Photo: This is what the intake and exhaust pipes for the internal combustion engine looked like 40 years ago

The team, made up of enthusiasts, divers, engineers and even university professors, insulated the electric motor and all the connectors with silicone, and initially did pressure tests at deep in the water to make sure the car doesn't go through an implosion similar to the Titan in the Oceangate story. The tires were filled with water to equalize the pressure from tens of meters deep.

Because of the high pressure, the divers could not have spent more than 15 minutes behind the wheel, which meant that a 15-minute shift rotation was required. Thus, 30 experienced divers participated, who took their turn driving the Toyota underwater.

On Saturday, July 29, 2023, the team set out to realize its idea, taking into account that in addition to all the mechanical challenges there was also the risk of encountering sharks.

The two shore points, on the maritime segment crossed

The car also had to face blockages in the mud under the water. Except that the team had airbags, prepared for such situations, which helped them rise from the underwater sand traps enough to continue their advance. The team also had to cross an underwater gas pipeline, and this operation also took longer than expected. But although the whole crossing took 5 hours longer than expected, taking a total of 12 hours, the Land Cruiser finally reached the other shore, 7 km away!

So, the mission was accomplished, and the much-desired world record was awarded to them! See below also a video filmed by a local television station in Australia on this subject.