Self-Driving Flying Cars Could Land in 2018

While several companies are focused on perfecting self-driving technology, the decades-old dream of building a future filled with flying cars has mostly been put on the back burner. According to Discovery News, one company has been working toward both goals at the same time and hopes to have prototypes of a self-driving flying car on and above the roads as early as 2018.

The Woburn, Massachusetts-based company Terrafugia advocates on its website for a “new dimension of freedom.” Since 2006, the company has been working to make flying cars a reality, and in 2013, it introduced the second generation of its Transition model, which more closely resembles a plane with foldable wings and wheels than an actual car. As the Daily Mail reports, a full-sized unmanned prototype of Terrafugia’s other concept vehicle, the TF-X (above), may be ready in two years, but you won’t be able to have one for another eight to 12 years.

A four-seater capable of vertical liftoff, the TF-X will be a hybrid electric car with a 300-horsepower engine that recharges the vehicle's battery and provides a flight range of 500 miles at speeds up to 200 mph. The flying car will also include a parachute system, automatic air traffic and bad weather avoidance capabilities, and emergency auto-landing protocols. The estimated price will be, according to Terrafugia, “consistent with high-end luxury cars,” so you may want to start saving now.

Check out the 3D-rendered simulation video (above) of what TF-X is expected to look like, and read more about Terrafugia’s developments on the company’s website.

[h/t Discovery News]

Banner image via Terrafugia Inc on YouTube