Photo: Plastiliner on Instagram
At first glance, this rendering by artist Plastiliner seems silly or even pointless. Everybody knows that the Lamborghini Urus can't fly, and there's certainly no Bugatti Chiron police car to chase it... yet.
But while we believe Dubai might splurge on a $3 million pursuit vehicle just to show off, the future of flying supercars seems a lot more uncertain. For some, that's going to be quite a controversial statement, so let me explain.
As a car journalist, I am often told how the future of cars is flying, usually by older people who don't love cars. And my reaction is always the same: it's not going to happen, at least not within my lifetime.
Roads already move in two directions. Is your lane too slow? Well, you can use the Y-axis to change it or even the road you are on. But when the entire highway gets blocked by an accident, the only solution seems to be a flying car.
As Neil deGrasse Tyson so brilliantly put it, going over other cars is called using a bridge or a tunnel, not flying. The solution is always going to be better roads or more roads, not jet propulsion.
Billions of people use and have used cars. The technology is very advanced and, despite what you might think, quite efficient. Taking off vertically, on the other hand, requires huge amounts of power and fuel.
Even if the technology progresses further and we somehow develop a form of free energy, people will always be the weakest link. It's not uncommon to see them running out of fuel or ignoring simple mechanical issues like worn brakes. What would that be like in a flying car?
The legislation would also get in the way of billions of unskilled drivers taking to the sky. And while autonomy seems like the perfect answer to that problem, you'd still need a highly complex machine being kept in perfect working condition at all times. So no flying Urus for you!
As a car journalist, I am often told how the future of cars is flying, usually by older people who don't love cars. And my reaction is always the same: it's not going to happen, at least not within my lifetime.
Roads already move in two directions. Is your lane too slow? Well, you can use the Y-axis to change it or even the road you are on. But when the entire highway gets blocked by an accident, the only solution seems to be a flying car.
As Neil deGrasse Tyson so brilliantly put it, going over other cars is called using a bridge or a tunnel, not flying. The solution is always going to be better roads or more roads, not jet propulsion.
Billions of people use and have used cars. The technology is very advanced and, despite what you might think, quite efficient. Taking off vertically, on the other hand, requires huge amounts of power and fuel.
Even if the technology progresses further and we somehow develop a form of free energy, people will always be the weakest link. It's not uncommon to see them running out of fuel or ignoring simple mechanical issues like worn brakes. What would that be like in a flying car?
The legislation would also get in the way of billions of unskilled drivers taking to the sky. And while autonomy seems like the perfect answer to that problem, you'd still need a highly complex machine being kept in perfect working condition at all times. So no flying Urus for you!
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