TF-X
Latest
Inhabitat's Week in Green: A flying car by 2018, and more!
If you've been waiting forever for a flying car, you won't have to hold out much longer: The Terrafugia TF-X will take to the skies by the year 2018. In other transportation news, Singapore-based Vanda Electric unveiled an insane 1,500-horsepower supercar that can go from 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds. Tesla partnered with Radio Flyer to roll out a tiny Model S for kids. And a NASA scientist thinks that in the far future lasers could send a spacecraft to Mars in just 30 minutes.
Terrafugia considering TF-X, a vertical-takeoff flying car (video)
We've been hearing about Terrafugia's Transition "flying car" for, well, far too long, considering that it has yet to even venture beyond the prototype phase. The prop plane / roadworthy vehicle combo has its fair share of fans -- some of them with deep enough pockets to place an order -- but it won't be making its way from your garage to the runway anytime soon. With that in mind, the company's TF-X vertical-takeoff model is even less likely to see the light of day, but it's being considered nonetheless. The plug-in hybrid-electric aircraft would take off and land vertically, like a helicopter -- if the DOT and FAA allowed it, you could literally fly over the highway whenever you run into traffic, though we can't imagine that pilots will ever get the green light to take off from public roads, even if the TF-X becomes a reality. For now, it exists only in the minds of Terrafugia's ambitious team, a few image renders and a minute-long animated demo, which we've embedded for your viewing pleasure after the break.
