What we've all been waiting for
The flying car, supposedly based on a Ferrari, could one day ferry commuters to work.
The 'Autovolantor' - based on a £200,000 Ferrari 599 GTB - is being developed by "Moller International".
It will have the ability to take off vertically and hover thanks to eight powerful thrusters which direct air down for take off. Vents then tilt so the car can fly forward.
The car is expected to be able to do 100mph on the ground and 150mph in the air.
The calculated airborne range is 75 miles and ground range is 150 miles.
Designer Bruce Calkins says the car features a specially designed hybrid fuel and electric system to power the thrusters, creating as much as 800 horse power.
He believes it will be able to fly at altitudes of up to 5,000ft.
Mr Calkins said: "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.
"Small vanes in the exit area of the ducts can direct the air forward or back, or remain in the neutral position for vertical take off and landing.
"Once in the air the vehicle manoeuvres like a helicopter, tilting nose down to move forward, rolling right or left for changes in direction.
"While maximum altitude could be much higher, the energy to obtain altitudes above 5,000 feet would be significant so we expect it to stay below that height."
Moller chose the Ferrari to be the model for the ground-breaking machine because of its distinctive shape.
Mr Calkins, Moller's general manager, added: "The Ferrari 599 GTB has the general shape and layout we were looking for.
"Using it allowed us to quickly modify a readily available scale model and run some wind tunnel tests to establish the technical feasibility of the project.
"At first we were very sceptical that we could adapt a ground-vehicle with our technologies and make it work.
"But the model allowed us to quickly verify that it could in fact be done."
Mr Calkins said he hopes the vehicle's ability to "quick hop' out of traffic' could mean they attract the backing to fund the project.
He estimates a cost of around £500,000 per car.
Comments Post your comment