This article was taken from the February 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
This car can fly -- and you can order it today for £75,000.
Launched in the UK in January, the Parajet SkyRunner was designed by British aviation engineer Gilo Cardozo and his team at Dorset-based Parajet Industries; it is a high-speed off-road car which turns into a paraglider that can fly at 88kph at up to 15,000 feet. "It's a new type of recreational machine -- the only flying car you can actually go out and buy," says Cardozo.
The SkyRunner is made of carbon fibre, titanium and aluminium. Before takeoff, a 0.2mm-thick nylon polymer wing is unfolded from the boot and laid out behind the car, and a switch in the cockpit disengages the wheels and powers up a three-bladed propellor. When the car reaches 60kph, the parachute wing rises up, and you have liftoff.
Cardozo tested an early prototype in 2008 by trying to drive and fly it from London to Timbuktu; based on this experience, he has made a lighter and more powerful vehicle, which is in the process of being certified as a light sport aircraft in the US and UK. "In 2014, we are going to televise worldwide SkyRunner rallies, where people can race on the ground and then in the air,"
Cardozo says. "It will create a whole new category of high-excitement sport."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
