That private jet will seem so passé if you could park Boeing's Sky Commuter flying car in your garage.
Looking like something from The Jetsons crossed with Battlestar Galactica (the shiny and silly '70s version, not the gritty 2004 reboot) – and a dash of Thunderbird 4 for good measure – it's one of three prototypes built in the late 1980s by Boeing engineers before the project was cancelled.
Unlike previous and mostly laughable 'flying cars' which were more like a regular vehicle with clip-on wings, the Sky Commuter was designed from the ground up as a jet for day-to-day personal use – an aviation equivalent of the Volkswagen, if you will.
A gas turbine engine drove three fans via a helicopter-based driveshaft for vertical take-off and landing...
... with the thrust exiting the exhaust pushing the Sky Commuter along the ground or through the air.
The vehicle could theoretically cruise at around 135kph (85mph) over a range of 360km (225 miles).
We stress "theoretically" because despite claims by its creators that the Sky Commuter made several successful test flights there are no photos, no film footage and no witnesses outside the company.
Listed for auction at Barret-Jackson, it sold for US$71,500 (A$95,000) – even allowing for the fact that it lacked an engine.
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About David Flynn David Flynn is the editor of Australian Business Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Source: Boeing Sky Commuter 'flying car' prototype sells for over $70,000
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