The American-based personal mobility solutions manufacturer Terrafugia has released a video to showcase their upcoming hybrid flying car, which promises to be the most advanced land & air vehicle ever released.
Attempts to create an affordable and reliable flying car goes as far back as the 1930s, when many engineers dreamed about the freedom of flight available for everyone. Despite over twenty individual models created since then, neither one of them was successful in providing air travel to the average Joe, as most of them required to mount and unmount their wings in order to work on land and in air, and also needed a small airstrip to takeoff and land safely.
However, Terrafugia promises to construct the most advanced air-car ever made until now. The plug-in hybrid will be powered by a 300 bhp (224 kW) engine and two 600 bhp (447 kW) electric motors to takeoff and land, while reaching 200 mph (322 km/h) in air and get a range of about 500 miles (805 km).
In order to be safer and easier to “drive”, the aero car will feature an advanced safety system that will ask users to choose a primary landing zone and a few backup ones. They system will analyze if the landing conditions on the primary zone are favorable and if not, it will redirect itself to the nearest alternative landing site. Once on the ground, the wings will automatically fold and the rotors will hide in the main body to be suitable for road use.
Pricing or other details are far from being announced, as the company will probably need at least 8 years in order to make flying car ready for every day use. Until then, you can see the the concept vehicle showing its feature in the following computer animated montage.
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