The Skycar is a combination parasail, swamp boat and dune buggy. Sponsored by a British knight and arctic adventurer, the design team is planning an expedition from London to Timbuktu in January of 2009.
"Whereas convertible car makers take about how quickly their vehicles can go from sunny exposure to rainy-day protection, Skycar designers like Gilo Cardozo tell us that conversion from "road mode" to "fly mode" and visa-versa will take three minutes.
To showcase the Skycar's potential, the Skycar Expedition Team is planning a January 2009 flight/drive from London to Timbuktu, a distance of over 6000km (3700 miles). The car uses a lightweight ParaWing that is filled by a huge fan built into the back of the vehicle to achieve theoretical airspeeds of 100 mph. Two people can fit into the steel or aluminum chassis and cruise along at 2,000-3,000 feet. The Times Online says that the Skycar is certified for road use and can burn ethanol in its modified 140bhp Yamaha R1 engine."
FULL STORY: Biofueled Skycar 2009 Expedition
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Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
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