These 7 companies are looking to make 'flying cars' a reality by 2020
Toyota is the latest company jumping into the race to build a flying car by 2020.
The Japanese automaker is known to dabble in futuristic technology from robotics to artificial intelligence. Now it's funding a flying car project that can both drive and hit the skies like the car from "Back to the Future."
But Toyota is far from the only company trying to make the concept a reality - scroll down to see the 7 projects in the works:View As: One Page Slides
As a car, the AeroMobil can reach a top speed of 100 mph. You need a Sports Pilot License to use the vehicle, which is only certified to operate in Europe.
The vehicle can transform into flight mode in just three minutes and cruise in the air at a top speed of 223 mph. AeroMobil is only making 500 units of the vehicle, which is rolling out to buyers in 2020.
7. Slovakian firm AeroMobil is accepting pre-orders for its $1 million flying car. Like Terrafugia's Transition, AeroMobil's vehicle is not a VTOL and needs a runway to take off.
Passengers can simply enter their desired location and it will fly on its own. The company has said a production version will be ready by 2025.
Terrafugia already sells its Transition flying car, which needs a runway to take off but can drive on roads. You need a Sports Pilot License to operate the vehicle.
The plug-in hybrid has a range of 500 miles, and it can take off vertically so you don't need to be on a runway for liftoff.
6. Terrafugia is building a car that can take off, fly, and land autonomously — but you would still have to drive it manually.
EHang is building an Uber-like system that would allow passengers to enter their desired location. The drone would then autonomously fly to that given location.
5. Chinese drone company EHang plans to begin operating its flying taxi drone in July in Dubai. It can carry 220 pounds, cruise at 62 mph, and fly over 11,000 feet.
Source: New York Times
Airbus is also designing a flying taxi system, named CityAirbus, that would have multiple propellers and resemble a small drone. Multiple people would be able to book a ride on the flying taxi system via an app.
Airbus wrote on its website that the CityAirbus taxi would first be operated by a pilot, but that a fully autonomous version would be released once regulations are in place.
The electric aircraft will have 8 rotors and will be able to achieve an altitude of about 1,000 feet. Airbus plans to test its first prototype by the end of 2017. The VTOL will be as cheap as taking a regular taxi per mile when it hits the market in 2020.
4. Airbus is developing a single-person VTOL under its Silicon Valley arm A³ as part of its Project Vahana. The aircraft will be autonomous and can carry a single passenger or cargo.
The VTOL is powered by six batteries, allowing for just 17 minutes of flight. It can re-charge in 40 minutes using a fast charger.
Called the Volocopter 2X, the aircraft has 18 rotors and can fit two people.
3. German company eVolo made a big announcement in early April when it said it will use its VTOL aircraft for a pilot taxi service in 2018.
Source: Business Insider
The vehicle can travel a maximum of 15 feet above the water at 25 mph. Kitty Hawk's CEO is Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Google's self-driving-car project and cofounder of Udacity.
Page has invested $100 million in Kitty Hawk and its other division, Zee.Aero, according to Bloomberg. A prototype of Zee.Aero's aircraft was spotted in the wild in October.
The Kitty Hawk Flyer weighs 220 pounds and relies on 8 rotors to fly. The startup is offering a $2,000 discount to those who pay $100 to get on the wait-list, but a final price for the vehicle has yet to be released.
2. Kitty Hawk, a flying car project backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, took the wraps off its VTOL aircraft in April. The fully electric aircraft can only fly over water.
Toyota has invested $386,000 in a startup called Cartivator to build the flying car, called Sky Drive. The first planned test flight is set for 2019, but the ultimate goal is to use the vehicle to light the Olympic torch in 2020.
1. Toyota is behind the truest flying car project on this list as the company is designing a vehicle that can both drive and fly. Most companies are building electric aircrafts that can take off vertically like a helicopter, but are incapable of driving on roads.
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