Photo: Toyota
Yeah, don’t worry, the Jetson era is still way out of our reach, but Toyota is currently working on some new tech that will raise some of its cars a bit over the ground to increase efficiency.
You’ve probably seen a hovercraft by now; you know, those machines riding on an air cushion. Saw how easily is to move them because there's no friction with the ground? Well, that’s what the Japanese automaker tries to implement into the world of cars.
In an interview with The Verge, Toyota’s technical administration group managing officer Hiroyoshi Yoshiki said the automaker had been studying the idea of flying cars in one of its “most advanced” research facilities.
However, making a road-going car completely hover above ground will make it too uncontrollable, so don’t just imagine the Prius without any wheels yet. Instead, the company wants to lift the weight of the car a bit more from the wheels.
This will minimize the hysteresis effect along with the rolling resistance of the tires, thus reducing energy consumption. So it’s kinda like a hovercraft but with wheels attached.
Sounds interesting, but this will probably work best in straight lines on the highway. Cornering with low downforce is pretty ineffective, and the new technology basically makes the car lighter on the ground.
Or maybe the company will use Pagani Huayra-like active aerodynamics to help the cars steer better. Unfortunately, Yoshiki-san declined to tell more about the hovering technology or its development phase.
In an interview with The Verge, Toyota’s technical administration group managing officer Hiroyoshi Yoshiki said the automaker had been studying the idea of flying cars in one of its “most advanced” research facilities.
However, making a road-going car completely hover above ground will make it too uncontrollable, so don’t just imagine the Prius without any wheels yet. Instead, the company wants to lift the weight of the car a bit more from the wheels.
This will minimize the hysteresis effect along with the rolling resistance of the tires, thus reducing energy consumption. So it’s kinda like a hovercraft but with wheels attached.
Sounds interesting, but this will probably work best in straight lines on the highway. Cornering with low downforce is pretty ineffective, and the new technology basically makes the car lighter on the ground.
Or maybe the company will use Pagani Huayra-like active aerodynamics to help the cars steer better. Unfortunately, Yoshiki-san declined to tell more about the hovering technology or its development phase.
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