Is it a car? Is it a plane? Actually it’s both. The first flying automobile, equally at home in the sky or on the road, is scheduled to take to the air next month.If it survives its first test flight, the Terrafugia Transition, which can transform itself from a two-seater road car to a plane in 15 seconds, is expected to land in showrooms in about 18 months’ time.
Carl Dietrich, who runs the Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, said: “This is the first really integrated design where the wings fold up automatically and all the parts are in one vehicle.”
The Transition, developed by former Nasa engineers, is powered by the same 100bhp engine on the ground and in the air.
Terrafugia claims it will be able to fly up to 500 miles on a single tank of petrol at a cruising speed of 115mph. Up to now, however, it has been tested only on roads at up to 90mph.
Dietrich said he had already received 40 orders, despite an expected retail price of $200,000 (£132,000).
Dietrich said he had already received 40 orders, despite an expected retail price of $200,000 (£132,000).
For the little boy that lives in every grown man this is the Holy Grail of technology.
A car that can fly. Just whisper that phrase into the ear of ANY man you know and watch his eyes just light up.
Impractical? Hell yeah!
Unnecessary? Probably.
Dangerous? More then likely.
Going to buy one if I can? You bet your ass!
Not me... I like my feet close to the ground...lol
ReplyDeleteNot much good in Alaska without floats!
ReplyDeleteThat would be a real vehicle: an amphibious-Terrafugia!
You're kidding. This has to be a joke. The wings fold up automatically? I see no break where they could fold, and where would they go if they did? If this is not a faked photograph and this thing actually flew, there is no way it could be folded up into something drivable. At the least it would be absurdly top-heavy. And the styling dates it to no later than, say, 1964. (I'm old enough to remember.) Where did you find this?
ReplyDeleteKevin