James Bond memorably escaped beneath the waves aboard his Lotus Esprit adapted in the 1977 film ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.
But an incredible new UFO-shaped submersible even seems to be outside the capabilities of MI6’s Q branch.
The Triton 660 AVA has a large transparent “bubble” window that makes passengers feel at one with the depths of the ocean.
While diving up to 200 meters (656 feet) below the water’s surface, guests can enjoy dinner, share a bottle of champagne, or even get married.
However, with an eye-watering purchase price of $6.3 million (£5 million), the 660 AVA doesn’t come cheap.
Triton says the submarine can be quickly reconfigured between dives and can offer a variety of dive activities, including dinner or cocktail dives, spa treatments or even underwater gaming experiences.
The Triton 660/9 AVA was launched as the ultimate deepwater touring boat, according to manufacturer Triton.
The submarine has been created by the Florida-based company Triton, perhaps best known for manufacturing the DSV Limiting Factor, a deep-sea submarine that collided with the wreckage of the RMS Titanic in 2019.
The company says on its website that its new 660 AVA offers “entertainment-focused underwater experiences.”
The submarine can be quickly reconfigured between dives and can offer a variety of dive activities, including dinner or cocktail dives, spa treatments, underwater gaming experiences or even weddings.
He describes the submarine as “the most intimate place in the world to get married.”
“Operators can take advantage of this space to offer never-before-possible experiences that will surprise and delight the most discerning guests, even when they are not sailing near a prime dive site,” he says.
“These unique and spacious spaces give you considerable flexibility to create experiences previously unimaginable in a submersible, from cocktail parties and casinos to weddings and private dinners.”
The intimate space features comfortable leather seating and even built-in ambient lighting and a surround sound audio system, so guests can enjoy music in tune with the depths of the sea.
According to Triton, the submarine’s expansive window uses a patent-pending blend of acrylics, allowing for strong but “transparent hulls in new, irregular geometries.”
It has been designed specifically for the cruise and hospitality sectors, with the ability to dive 200 meters (656 feet) below the surface.
The craft has echoes of James Bond’s sea-diving Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me, above, also known as Wet Nellie (pictured).
According to Triton, the submarine’s wide window uses a patent-pending acrylic blend that allows for strong but “transparent hulls in new, irregular geometries.”
“A Triton AVA submersible typically offers two to three times the usable volume of traditional spherical hulls: space that can be used to create incredible experiences,” the company adds.
Triton 660 AVA also comes with a new and improved controller to operate the submarine, called Hammerhead.
Working in conjunction with the cockpit, Hammerhead allows you to control the submersible wirelessly from any seat within the cockpit.
Therefore, the pilot could move around the submersible while still operating it, or could even hand over control of the submersible to a guest.
If this sounds too similar to the retrofitted PlayStation controller used to navigate the doomed Titan last June, apparently everything on Triton’s new vehicle has been designed with safety in mind.
A spokesperson said each 660 AVA submersible is made up of thousands of components, each of which is reviewed and tested to ensure it meets third-party certification requirements.
Florida-based Triton says its ship has been designed specifically for the cruise and hospitality sectors.
The Triton DSV Limiting Factor of the Florida-based company Triton Submarines, which collided with the breakage of the starboard hull of the Titanic wreck.
The private submersible Titan, created and operated by another American company called OceanGate, suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’ while en route to visit the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
All five men on board were killed instantly, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who had described a deep-sea voyage aboard the Titan as “safer than crossing the street.”
Titanic director James Cameron, known for his own deep-sea exploration missions, said the Titanic had “three potential points of failure” and noted that its “Achilles heel” was the carbon fiber hull.