Production Version Of Flying Car Heading To The Geneva Motor Show 2018
Highlights
- The flying car is manufactured by Pal-V, a UK-founded Dutch firm
- The flying car is called the Liberty, the price will start at Rs. 2.5 Cr
- The car is expected to be ready for sale by next year
Will we ever get to fly cars? Well, we've seen the legendary Mi6 operative Bond take it through water and the Jetsons were probably a precursor to what was in store for the future. But there are still sceptics like me, who do not really believe that flying cars will ever reach the production stage. There's one company, however, who is trying to prove every one of those sceptics wrong. Flying car manufacturer Pal-V will unveil its first production model at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The flying car is called the Liberty and the UK-founded Dutch firm says the car-plane-helicopter-thing is a historic breakthrough in the evolution of flying cars.
It's not exactly a jet fuel powered car but a three-wheeled flying contraption and the rotors do not go up automatically, rather, there's some manual labour involved. However, the transformation is a quick one and in just 5 to 10 minutes you're all set to take to the sky. The Liberty gets its flying power from a pair of Rotax aircraft engines and and has been designed to comply with both road and air regulations in Europe and the U.S. Sadly, there are no other details that the company has let us on.
Pal-V's CEO Robert Dingemanse says, "The production model is the moment of truth. All certifications required for commercialization will be granted on the basis of this production model. This is the pivotal point that separates pioneers from dreamers."
Following further testing and final certification, the car is expected to be ready for sale by next year. It's taken a decade to get it from the concept stage the production version and now is the moment of truth. However, it will come at a price. The entry level liberty costs a whopping Rs. 2.5 crore while a special launch edition will cost Rs. 2.6 crore. It'll never make its way to India in the next couple of decades but we hope it see it hover past.