And not just any car, a Ferrari 599 GTB has been deemed the world's first real flying car. The project is being developed by a company called Moller International and they plan to turn this thing into reality sooner than you might think. Latest speculations say that this baby will be on the road, sorry, in the air in just two years!
But before you run out to get your pilot's license, here are a couple for juicy details from behind the scenes. The car will have the ability to hover and to take off vertically by using 8 powerful thrusters (kinda like the Harrier jet) that can tilt to propel the car forward.
The autonomy is only limited by the small tank on the car, 75 miles while in the air and 150 on land. Speeds will range in between 100 mph on land and 150 in the air. In order to achieve these numbers the car will use a special hybrid fuel as well as an electric system to power the thrusters with a cumulated power output of 800 horsepower.
The sky will be the limit on this one folks, but just up to 5000 ft. Still high enough to get through those traffic jams during rush hour. Imagine getting home in 20 minutes every day ... The car-plane could actually travel higher, but at those kind of altitudes, the power needed to push it forward would be much greater and thus reduce its range.
The designer of this marvelous project, Bruce Calkins had this to say about his baby: “The Autovolantor is powered by eight fans mounted in the fuselage of the vehicle. On the ground these fans push the vehicle around with a firm but not-too-powerful thrust of deflected air ... Once in the air the vehicle maneuvers like a helicopter, tilting nose down to move forward, rolling right or left to change direction”.
And now to the all important question of “how much?” So, Mr. Calkins, how much for a flying Ferrari that can turn us unto James Bond overnight? The answer to that question is 500,000 pounds, which is not very bad considering.
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