Skycar
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Parajet SkyCar flying vehicle evolves, now ready for pre-orders
The historians once pontificated that we'd all be cruising about in flying cars right around the year 2000, and while that whole Y2K fiasco threw us a tad behind schedule, it looks like the future may actually still be upon us. Parajet, the same company responsible for that downright unnerving personal flying machine we peeked back in '05, has now placed its long-awaited SkyCar up for pre-order. Said vehicle has evolved quite dramatically over the years, but now that dollars (er, pounds) are being dropped on it, we have to assume that the design is near final. The vehicle is completely street legal and can accelerate to 62mph in just 4.2 seconds, thus making it the world's first "usable, road-legal flying car." If you're champing at the bit to be the first on your block with one, you can drop £10,000 ($16,381) now and pay the remaining £50,000 ($81,905) just before it ships in "late 2010." Of course, we're not making any promises about it actually shipping, but that's a risk you'll have to take.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Moller M200G hovercraft heading into production
Moller Industries, the brainchild of inventor Dr. Paul Moller, announced recently that production would begin on the company's M200G volantor, a UFO-esque hovercraft that apparently can "glide over terrain at 50 MPH." Moller, long known for his work in both hovercrafts and flying vehicles (see the dubious Skycar), has been working on alternative forms of transportation for 40 years. The futuristic looking craft is driven by the company's Rotapower engines, and can allegedly operate up to 10 feet in altitude. Of course, while Moller Industries offers lots of exciting talk about the future of transportation (as well as t-shirts, models, and investment options) to its customers, the company has never brought a vehicle to market. Clearly, the announcement of a "Jetsons-like" craft may fuel enthusiast's hope (and pull in some escrow cash), but the actual production and sale of the $90,000+ vehicle has yet to be seen. Check the video after the break to see Dr. Moller's invention at work.[Via Wired]
