At last, the future we were promised! Toyota test drives flying CAR that it hopes to use to light Olympic flame in two thousand twenty opening ceremony
By Luke Barnes For Mailonline 13:Nineteen BST three Jun 2017, updated 13:Nineteen BST three Jun two thousand seventeen
- The ‘Cartivator’ start-up group is made up of thirty engineers, including some Toyota employees
- They’ve developed a ‘SkyDrive’ flying car with the help of Toyota sponsors and crowdfunding
- They hope that the car could be ready to light the flame at the opening ceremony of Tokyo two thousand twenty
- The SkyDrive is still in its infancy, but engineers hope to commercialise it by 2025
Engineers in Japan demonstrated a flying car on Saturday, which they hope will be able to light up the Olympic flame for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo two thousand twenty Summer Games.
‘Cartivator’, a start-up group of about thirty engineers including some youthful Toyota employees, embarked to develop a flying car ‘SkyDrive’ in two thousand fourteen with the help of crowdfunding.
Head of Cartivator, Tsubasa Nakamura, said that while the car was still at an early stage of development, the group expects to conduct the very first manned-flight by the end of 2018.
The current test model was able to get off and float on the ground for a few seconds during the demonstration. Nakamura said the design needed more stability so the prototype would be able to fly long and high enough to reach the Olympic flame.
Engineers of Cartivator are aiming to make their flying car the world’s smallest electrified vehicle, which can be used in petite urban areas, and hopes to commercialise the car in 2025.
Last month, Toyota Motor and its group of companies agreed to invest 42.Five million yen (£300,000) in the project for the next three years. Nakamura said the group is working hard to improve the design, hoping to receive further investment from the company.
Companies in the world have been rivaling to develop the very first flying car or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles. Uber Technologies Inc announced its plan to deploy its flying taxi service by two thousand twenty in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dubai. Airbus Group is also working on developing its flying car under its division called Urban Air Mobility.
But makers of ‘flying cars’ still face hurdles, including coaxing regulators and the public that their products can be used securely. Governments are still grappling with regulations for drones and driverless cars.