Takeoff and cruise: Toyota making ‘flying car,’ luxury boat
TOYOTA, Japan — Toyota Motor Corp. is working on a “flying car.”
A startup backed by the Japanese automaker has developed a test model that engineers hope will eventually develop into a tiny car with a driver who’ll be able to light the Olympic torch in the 2020 Tokyo games. For now, however, the project is a concoction of aluminum framing and eight propellers that barely gets off the ground and crashes after several seconds.
Toyota has invested 42.5 million yen ($386,000) in startup Cartivator Resource Management to work on “Sky Drive .” At a test flight Saturday in the city where the automaker is based, the gadgetry, about the size of a car and loaded with batteries and sensors, blew up a lot of sand and made a lot of noise.
It managed to get up as high as eye level for several seconds before tilting and falling to the ground. Basketballs attached to its bottom served as cushions. After several attempts, the endeavour had to be cancelled after one of the covers got detached from the frame and broke, damaging the propellers.