Seven-foot-one, multi-millionaire NBA legend and car lover Shaquille O’Neal has just become the proud owner of two custom 1964 Chevrolet Impalas, one of which is actually a jet boat in disguise.
It’s a move seemingly designed to make Skee-Lo about as envious as humanly possible, with the notoriously tall baller now able to cruise pavement and marina in a six-four Impala as and when he chooses.
Shaq entrusted Effortless Motors, his regular custom shop, with the task of building both cars, and given that the team there already stretched a C8 Corvette to fit the NBA legend’s particular space requirements, it’s a challenge with which it should already be well familiar.
Effortless it was not, with the custom seats proving to be an interference fit with the stock interior panels when mounted the extra Shaq-required eight inches farther back than standard, necessitating new custom panels to accommodate the extra legroom.
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After conquering this challenge, EM spruced up the road-going Impala with an air suspension system to deal with the large wheels, a fabric roof, custom sound system and lighting throughout, and a special engraved plaque bearing the shop’s name and Shaq’s “Diesel Dog Mafia” branding.
Having your own custom Impala delivered 1,200 miles to your door is enough for some people, but for this car-collecting Basketball Hall of Famer – who has a nine-figure net worth and a fleet of more than 70 – it might be little more than a blip on the radar. The video also reveals Effortless is working on a custom Cadillac Deville, one of two Shaq owns. The one-off Impala jet boat is a wholly different prospect.
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First things first, the Impala-boat isn’t an amphibious car. In fact, it isn’t really an Impala at all, but rather a fiberglass silhouette of a ’64 Impala married to a jet boat hull. That doesn’t take away from the spectacle of the thing much, with the rather slab-sided Impala body cutting an unexpected shape through the water.
To keep it all relatively authentic, the Impala body has LED lighting front and rear to match the real thing, while the interior mimics that of Shaq’s new road car, though with a much smaller steering wheel. It’s also a lot wetter in the cabin, as the Impala windshield height and angle don’t seem well suited for marine purposes.
The color scheme should also appear familiar, as Effortless designed it to replicate a silver-screen star: Ice Cube’s “Touch of Gold” Impala from Boyz n the Hood. Nobody tell them Doughboy’s whip was a ‘63…
It’s not clear from the video whether the aqua-Impala is a complete custom build or if the shop sourced an existing hull and motor upon which it mounted the new upper body, but either way, a jet boat adds some functionality that a standard boat lacks.
Instead of spinning a prop to create thrust, jet boats suck water in from below and force it via out of a nozzle via an impeller to propel the boat with a jet of water – hence the term “jet boat.” Most boats using jet power have steerable nozzles for direction control instead of a rudder. With no exposed prop or rudder hanging out of the hull, jet boats are quick, maneuverable, and able to work in very shallow water – which enables the clean rear end for this build.
Jet boats are also easier to operate than traditional powerboats, which allows car-like controls wherein the gas pedal sends the boat forward, and the brake propels it backward. Performance is likely similar to a road-going Impala, as jet boats are capable of some pretty quick launches.
Shaq’s test-drive took place on Lake Ray Hubbard, close to his Texas home, to the background of a thunderstorm and some rather surprised onlookers in the marina. After all, it’s not every day you see a lowrider clipping along the waves, let alone one with Shaq at the wheel.
Top graphic image: Effortless Motors/YouTube
As a kid I was not great at basketball. We’d play 21 and when I would shoot a foul shot I would often brick it so hard (or airball) that my friend would say DANG SHAQUILLE!
I still use that exclamation when something is absurd. This is the first time it has ever been at/about Shaquille.
oooooffffffff. Andrew, no disrespect, but next time Autopian does an article on a boat, hit me up first because this is chock full of misinformation. I own 7 boats, worked at Mercury for a decade, and grew up around them. I’m going to fix your article with some responses below:
“Instead of spinning a prop to create thrust, jet boats suck water in from below and force it via out of a nozzle via an impeller to propel the boat with a jet of water – hence the term “jet boat.” Most boats using jet power have steerable nozzles for direction control instead of a rudder. With no exposed prop or rudder hanging out of the hull, jet boats are quick, maneuverable, and able to work in very shallow water – which enables the clean rear end for this build. “
“Jet boats are also easier to operate than traditional powerboats, which allows car-like controls wherein the gas pedal sends the boat forward, and the brake propels it backward. “
“Performance is likely similar to a road-going Impala, as jet boats are capable of some pretty quick launches.”
I get that boats are not as popular as cars, but I think you guys need a dedicated writer for marine stuff. There is so much misinformation out there about boats, and writing articles like this isn’t helping. I volunteer as tribute.
Lastly, any boat that looks like a car is going to get a lot of attention, but it will pretty much always be a piece of shit.
I did a video a little while back going through why the “Porsche 911 Jet Boat” is a massive piece of shit, where I went through a lot of the same things I just covered above, but it’s somehow even worse because people expect a 911 to be actually fast.
I can’t put my finger on why, but even thought the boat and the car have very similar lines the boat version looks like a pickup and the car just looks like a convertible low-rider. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
An Impala boat? Guess Shaq’s never heard of the Toyboata.
At 7’1″ I’m actually surprised his head isn’t up above the top of the windshield.
I don’t know who makes them, but there’s a bunch of these car-body-jet-boats. I’ve only ever seen more recent cars, but my guess is that, if it’s custom, it’s one of those with a different body on top.
Well, at least he doesn’t need to worry about headroom.
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat”.
Right on, good for you, Shaq!
Because I’m old, I keep doing this kind of math.
Boyz n the Hood came out in 1991, so that ’63 Impala was 28 years old.
Today that would be something like a 1998 Impala. Although I’d lean to a late model B body, rather than the FWD W body. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a convertible for decades.
Making the Impala a true water going vessel is just the next step of evolution for Land-Yachts
The Water-Yachts.
He’s tall, a basketball player, has an attractive wife who I’m sure he calls, and now this. All he needs now is a rabbit in a hat with a bat.