Bonkers but cool

If I had a spare 50K lying around I'd so have one of them. Any idea what the biofuel will be?

Okay, we've got the flying car thing licked

so where, pray tell, is my fucking flying submarine?

Can I

Can I add one of these to my Amazon wish-list for my birthday? Please?

Terrafugia Transition?

Don't know about the car, but the website seems to be parked...

Looks like they bought a lemon

Any fool can see from the photo that it's just a "cut and shut" job.

The front is clearly a rear-ended Lambo, onto which they have welded the back end of a hovercraft.

Mine's the one with the arc welder in the pocket.

The www.terrafugia.com web site

Did someone forget to renew the domain?

Why so negative?

Barring some sort of antigravity device, this is probably about as close to a practical flying car as we're going to get for some time. It does STOL, it's pretty much burke-proof, having a parafoil wing, and the aeronautical bits fold into the boot (parafoil again) so you don't have to drive around looking like aircraft origami.

That little lot coupled with a three minute transition from one to t'other makes me think they have a winner.

In an ideal world a flying car would have a better solution to the wing conundrum and do VTOL. However, as far as I can see the only contender in this area is the Moller product, but that seems to be more of a device for converting venture capital into bullshit than a flying car.

Awesome cakes...

another new and inventive way to kill myself...where do i sign :-)

mines the one with "Flying cars for dummies" in the pocket

title

" rotary engine, which with supercharge and fuel ignition "

Handy extra - that fuel ignition thingy - all internal combustion engines should be fitted with it as standard

Nice

I saw a picky of the actual car in the paper. Basically a small of road buggy with the parachute wing thing. Very sensible and ideal for African exploration. Get to a river or canyon and just fly across. I agree its fairly idiot proof as they just float down if you cock it up.

Shame they are so noisy as they fly the 1 man paragliders over my farm its its bloody irritating. Like having a chansaw in next door garden for 2 hours.

It looks so cool...

I'd get one of those even if it couldn't fly!

Totally the way to go

In all current practical uses for flying cars (getting around in wilderness environments/rich cocks dicking about in the countryside) this is totally the way to go. It's got to be easy and quick to switch between the two and it also has to be practical to use in both configurations. Most flying cars rely on keeping the wings somewhere separate and being able to fold them up and pop them in the boot is a total bonus.

I want one of those biatches!

re traffic avoidance

Won't work for avoiding rush hour into downtown, of course – no flying car ever will. But for getting between two rural locations with no direct land route between them, it could be useful. Also good for avoiding security checkpoints at borders and such, but remember to go around, not over, so they won't try to shoot you down.

Chitty^2Bang^2??

"'Extreme golfer' in Gibraltar Chitty^2Bang^2 bid" Wha?

Surely, that should be 2xChitty+2xBang, as Chitty-squared multiplied by Bang-squared would be something entirely different. And no, I'm not going to postulate what that might be.

Darwin

Anyone else think this could all end with one of this year's entries in the Darwin Awards?

@Colin Millar

I was going to point out that diesels and jets (both internal combustion engines) survive quite well without an ignition system. Then I reread the article and found that the word used is actually "injection".

Fail x 2 then.

Put those claws away, Page

Rrreeeeoowwww! Lewis. What did Laughton do to you to deserve this catty tirade?

This is the annual Timbuktu Challenge where all sorts of teams make their way to Mali in aid of various causes, and a proper good laugh it was when I took part last year (though in a rather less exciting Vauxhall Corsa). There are always a few outlandish participants - we drove with a limo shipped from Vegas (suspension specially hitched up for the desert) and another team had a car powered by food production waste.

Eccentric British adventuring at its best!

Utterly pointless, completely lunatic and a healthly dose of almost certain death!

That British pioneering spirit isnt dead yet!

Good Luck sir! Dont get arrested for spying or something!!!

@ TeeCee, Lottie, Roxton

Diesel engines rely on compression ignition, but jet engines certainly have igniters (see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_engine#Ignition). But the article does indeed (now) say injectors.

According to the Skycar website, the ‘biofuel’ is ethanol supplied by Ethanol Ventures. ‘Using wheat surplus to the food market, ethanol can be produced and added in a 5% biofuel to fossil fuel mix’ although it’s unclear exactly what mix Skycar itself will use. 5% ethanol blend is what any old car will run on, and if you fill up in the UK, probably is.

Giles Cardozo is named as the Chief Pilot, second on the list of key people of Skycar’s website. He’s described as ‘The brainchild behind the Parajet Skycar. An incredibly talented engineer who invented and piloted one of two Para-motor aircraft that flew over Mt. Everest, smashing the existing world altitude record by more than 10,000 ft. Founder and MD of Parajet which is at the cutting edge of personal aircraft flight and he has participated on flying expeditions with Neil to the Himalaya, The Alps and Venezuela.’ Credit where it’s due.

Bear Grylls, eh?

So the trip will include staying at resorts with your film crew and eating caterpillars for no reason?