Elaqua electric jet ski to come with its own drone

At its core, the new ride, unimaginatively referred to in the southern Californian company’s promotional material as the “Electric PWC”, has a 175hp electric motor that is capable of speeds of up to 85km/h, or a little faster than a 90hp Sea-Doo Spark.

Wrapped around the engine is a 3D-printed carbonfibre composite hull and top deck.

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The new ski will be a technophile’s delight, including a digital touchscreen interface running the Unreal Engine human-machine interface that was originally developed for online gaming but has reached wider appeal as a digital dashboard for car brands including GM and Rivian.

The Elaqua jet ski will also be intimately attached to the user’s smartphone, allowing them to check its status, keep a watch on where it is, respond to an alarm and even monitor their heart rate while riding.

The interface will also allow owners to geo-fence their jet ski so other users are restricted to certain areas, and even remotely tap into the ski to check on what is happening.

Elaqua said its three-camera rider safety system, which also taps into radar and other sensors installed around the hull, would come standard on every jet ski sold.

“Technology features don’t just make your experience more enjoyable- we’ve developed robust safety intelligent systems to make sure you are protected when exploring the open water and riding through crowded areas,” Elaqua said.

The heart of the system will be a 15.5-inch display mounted on the jet ski’s dashboard. From here, the rider will be able to control all the Elaqua Electric PWC’s on-board functions, including the trio of onboard cameras.

Also under its control will be a drone that launches from the rear of the jet ski. Elaqua says that the drone will fly back to the same spot on your jet ski once the recording is done.

According to the company, the touchscreen will allow riders to “interact with our watercraft in ways never seen in the industry”. Functions will include charts and route plotting.

One of the more interesting accessories that will be on offer is a Swiss-made watch that will also double as a proximity key for the Elaqua.

The ski’s makers claim it will be able to travel up to about 180 kilometres on a single charge and in ideal conditions – that means loping along at a pace that’s much lower than the targeted top speed.

Driving modes will include Launch for high-speed adventure, Cruise for a smoother ride with more range, and Pristine, a mode that Elaqua said was optimised for “when you find yourself in an area crowded with people or wildlife”. It caps speed and creates as little noise as possible.

No estimated recharging time is given for using a normal wall plug, although using a Stage 2 fast charger will take a couple of hours, and a Stage 3 charger – we assume to 80 per cent capacity – will take around 20 minutes.

Elaqua says pricing for the Electric PWC will start from $US16,500 ($A24,000), although in a pitch to potential dealers the company has indicated owners will need to dip into their pockets to get more out of their jet ski – a similar “software as a service” business model to car makers that now charge fees for everything from switching on rear seat warmers to temporarily tapping extra performance.