Cars could be taking to the sky, Jetsons-style, as early as 2021. This is when the TF-X four-seater from Terrafugia, unveiled in 2013, is expected to go on sale.
The company’s previous Transition car-plane made a successful maiden flight in 2012. That had a 99bhp Rotax aircraft engine, cruised at 100mph and consumed 35mpg on the road.
The TF-X, by contrast, is equipped with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which drives the wheels on the road and powers a pair of electrically-driven rotors in the sky. It can take off and land vertically, so no runway is required. Range in the air is said to be 500 miles, an increase of 90 over the Transition’s. It can also fit into a conventional one-car garage.
Terrafugia claims that its car-plane will autonomously steer clear of other air traffic, bad weather and restricted air space. It will even find its own way to a pre-specified landing spot, although the driver has final say when it comes landing approval. Additionally, there are manual controls and overrides as well as a full-vehicle parachute system.
According to the company, it takes just five hours to learn to drive the TF-X and the final design “should be statistically safer than driving a modern automobile".
Pricing puts it in the realms of the luxury car market. Currently, the Transition costs $279,000 (around £180,000), so the TF-X is likely to have a starting price of over £200,000.
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