There’s hope for those flying cars we’ve been waiting for
But Toyota-backed test barely gets off ground
It would be a truly Olympic feat.
A start-up backed by Japanese automaker Toyota revealed a prototype of a flying car, aiming to whisk a driver through the air to light the Olympic torch in Tokyo in summer 2020.
Although the start-up is not officially collaborating with Toyota, the automaker confirmed to USA TODAY that it is exploring “aerial solutions” on its own.
Toyota described its own flying car ambitions as “in the very early stages” and said “nothing has been decided yet about commercialization.”
Still, the involvement of the world’s second-largest automaker reflects a serious step forward for flying cars amid a debate over whether they’re realistic at all.
To be sure, the start-up venture, dubbed Cartivator Resource Management, got off to a sputtering start Saturday. Using aluminum framing, eight propellers and sensors to fly — and cushioned by basketballs attached to the bottom of its frame — Cartivator’s Sky Drive vehicle flew to eye level for several seconds before crashing to the ground.
Further flight attempts were abandoned. Still, the company, which got nearly $400,000 from Toyota, declared the liftoff a success and said it’s charting a path toward manned flight in 2019.
Project leader Tsubasa Nakamura said in a blog post that Cartivator would reveal a redesigned prototype in November.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is one skeptic in the debate. The billionaire innovator said recently in an interview at TED Talks that he likes flying things but flying cars aren’t even practical.
“If something ’s flying over your head and there’s a whole bunch of flying cars going all over the place, that is not an anxiety-reducing situation,” he said. “You’re thinking, ‘Did they service their hubcap, or is it going to come off and guillotine me?’ ”