Zhejiang Geely, the Chinese parent company of carmaker Volvo Cars, is acquiring Terrafugia. This US company focuses on developing flying cars and expects to launch its first model in 2019.
Terrafugia is a company founded in 2006 by five former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students. The company is working on two models of flying cars: the Transition and the TF-X. On the road, the Transition should behave like a regular car; in the air, it should feel like an average light sports plane. The two-seater vehicle is powered by a Rotax 912iS engine running on premium unleaded petrol available at regular petrol stations.
Transition
What is special about the Transition is, of course, the vehicle's ability to fly. Terrafugia reports that the vehicle can switch between driving and flying mode in less than a minute. In the air, the vehicle can reach a speed of 160 kilometres per hour and has a range of about 650 kilometres. The flying car can fly at an altitude of up to 10,000 feet. On the ground, the vehicle can reach 'highway speeds'. What the Transition's exact top speed is on the road the company leaves open.
Safety has also been considered. For instance, the Transition is equipped with all kinds of safety measures familiar from regular cars, such as a crumple zone, airbags and seat belts. In addition, the Transition is equipped with a parachute that can bring the entire vehicle safely to the ground in case of emergency. Also available is an autopilot and automated 'terain avoidance' technology, which allows the Transition to automatically swerve from any obstacles. Test flights with the first prototype were conducted in 2009. A second-generation prototype was developed in 2012.
TF-X
The TF-X is the second model Terrafugia is working on. Unlike the Transition, this vehicle can take off and land vertically, simplifying the use of the flying car. To take off and land, the TF-X needs flat ground about 30 metres in diameter. In the air, the vehicle has a maximum speed of 320 kilometres per hour and a range of 800 kilometres. Like the Transition, the TF-X's engine runs on standard unleaded petrol.
Details about the TF-X are lacking at the time of writing. However, Terrafugia does report that a standard driving licence in the United States (US) will be sufficient to drive the vehicle on the road. In addition, the company claims that driving the TF-X requires less training than a traditional pilot's licence. The vehicle should cost about as much as a high-end car.
Terrafugia expects to launch the Transition in 2019. We will have to wait longer for the TF-X; this model is expected to be available from 2023.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Zhejiang Geely
Source: Terrafugia
Source photo: Zhejiang Geely
