The four-seater hybrid EV – with vertical take-off

Cleantechnica

Let’s say that you’re traveling on the freeway to a business meeting and your GPS tells you that the road in front of you has just become impassable. There is an alternate route available; however, it adds an hour and a half to your journey. You will miss your meeting. This could be a nightmare. It seems there is an answer being developed. It is a hybrid car that transitions into an airplane.

It’s called the TF-X: Terrafugia (which is Latin for “escape the earth”) and is being created in Woburn, Massachusetts by a team of award-winning MIT-trained aerospace engineers. Check out it’s range.

The car/craft uses electric power and gasoline (personally, I would like to see it use more electric power) to reach your destination. Since we’ve learned that traveling the same distance by air that you can cover on the ground produces less global warming pollution, we can still be on the ecological side of transportation and fulfill our dreams of soaring in the clouds.

Building on its experience with the Transition® program, Terrafugia has begun feasibility studies of a four-seat, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) plug-in hybrid-electric flying car, the TF-X™. Incorporating state-of-the-art technology in intelligent systems, fly-by-wire controls, and currently available technology, the TF-X™ could further increase the level of safety, simplicity, and convenience of personal aviation.

“We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation,” says Terrafugia CEO/CTO Carl Dietrich.

This story was orginally published at Cleantechnica. Reproduced with permission.