Toyota's Flying Car Patent Looks Like Henry Ford Drawing the Wright Brother's Plane
We've seen the technology before, just not attached to a Corolla.
Flying cars are a potentially dangerous idea, one that probably shouldn’t be fully realized outside of a (Fast and Furious sequel. But that’s not going to stop Toyota from patenting winged cars (model name suggestion: Icarus).
A new patent awarded to the Japanese mega-manufacturer shows a practical two-door commuter car with a super epic sun roof. What it does not show: a propulsion system of any kind. Is it a glider? Hard to say. But that’s what the original planes were so that would be — in a way — poetic. And, as with those OG gliders, we’ve got four stacked wings here.
“Aerocars or roadable aircraft are defined as vehicles that may be driven on roads as well as take off, fly, and land as aircraft,” the patent explains. “Vehicles that demonstrate such capability provide operators with freedom, comfort, and the ability to arrive quickly to a destination as mobility becomes three-dimensional yet remains private and personal.”
Still, you have to wonder how they plan to get this beast in the air, or how you’d feel to be the first person in history crushed by a Prius plummeting from 100 feet.
