The flying car

Fresh from its maiden test flight last month, the Terrafugia Transition Street-Legal Airplane is on display at the New York motor show. The makers of the second generation Terrafugia are using the New York show to garner publicity and raise funding to put the part-car, part-plane into production. The prototype on display is one of two that have been built for test work and for preparing for tooling for the production version. The rear-drive two-seater is powered by a 100bhp Rotax 912S engine and weighs 650kg. It has been designed to be switched from car to plane, or vice versa, in under half an hour, with its wings extending or folding out at the touch of a button. Its makers say it folds small enough to fit in a conventional garage. While six phases of flight testing are planned to continue development and meet aircraft safety standards, no mention is made of testing to car safety and compliance standards and no on road performance figures are available. Although there is no firm production date at present, deposits are being taken. The final asking price is expected to be around £200,000.