"SKYDRIVE" - TOYOTA'S FIRST FLYING CAR?
( images courtesy Cartivator through public news release )
Toyota has its eye on the sky, and is investing in new FLYING CAR technology, through a very small start-up company in Japan called CARTIVATOR.
Toyota is investing $350-thousand dollars in CARTIVATOR, which is using drone technology. Scale models have already been test flown successfully, and the goal is to have a full size working prototype ready and flying in time so that it can be used to light the Olympic torch in 2020.
The 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo.
VIDEO SHOWS SKYDRIVE ANIMATION AND ARTIST RENDERINGS
( images courtesy Cartivator through public news release )
Toyota engineers are working with the young people who started the company, and are volunteering their time. The difference between SKYDRIVE - which is the name for the flying car - and other flying cars is that most others are really just street legal aircraft. SKYDRIVE is being designed for use anywhere.
Like a four motor drone it will take off and land vertically so no runway will be needed. It will be about 9.5-feet long, and 4.3-feet wide. It will fly at low altitudes of about 33 feet and will reach speeds of about 62 Miles Per hour.
( images courtesy Cartivator through public news release )
If it debuts with success at the Olympics in 2020 the first SKYDRIVE Flying Cars, could be offered for sale to the public as early as the next year in 2023, with large scale production kicking in around 2030.
Toyota has been showcasing a variety of new technologies at auto shows like the Canadian International Auto Show, and the Ottawa Gatineau International Auto Show where the high performance LC500H Hybrid High Performance Car was a highlight this year. With luck the SKYDRIVE or at least some of its technology and prototypes will be featured at auto shows in Canada soon too, so that we can get a look at the prototype or at least the scale models up close.
- SST NEWS
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