Toyota is really invested in showing off Japanese technology for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We already know of the fuel cell busses it will use during the games as well as the hybrid boat it has been developing; now Toyota has revealed what is probably the most interesting piece of engineering so far: a "flying car."
It will be called the Skydrive and if you are wondering why "flying car" is within quotation marks, that would be because it would be a bit of a stretch to call it an actual flying car; rather, it seems to be a large drone that somewhat resembles a car. We doubt it would carry any passengers.
Skydrive will not be built by Toyota but rather by Cartivator, a group that operates outside Toyota city in central Japan. Toyota and its group companies have agreed to support the project with 40 million yen ($354,000), which had so far relied on crowfunding for development.
Car Buying Tips: Should you buy new or used?
Thirty volunteers are currently working on the Skydrive car. It measures 9.5 feet by 4.3 feet and has a projected top flight speed of 62 miles per hour while traveling up to 33 feet off the ground. It's very unlikely anybody will be riding inside it, which we would assume to be a requirement for calling it a car.
Still, whether you call it a flying car or a car-like drone, it's a cool project that may serve an even cooler purpose: Toyota and the people working on Skydrive hope that in 2020, the prototype will be used to light the Olympic flame to kick off the summer games. Now wouldn't that be something?
Fresh Out of College? Make use of Toyota's college graduate rebate
Source: Cartivator
Source: Toyota Hopes to Use a Flying Car to Light the 2020 Olympic Flame
No comments:
Post a Comment