The Netherlands-based automotive company PAL-V said it would come to the Geneva Motor Show 2018 with a project that took it ten years to complete – the world’s first mass-produced car that can fly.
The first prototype of the vehicle saw the daylight in 2008. It wasn’t until 2011 before the engineers considered it safe enough to fly, though.
At its core, the PAL-V Liberty is a three-wheel car that takes 10 minutes to transform into a gyroplane. To that end, the driver only needs to pull out the tail piece and main rotor blades; the propeller mast is self-deploying.
The vehicle is driven by two 100-horsepower, aviation-grade Rotox motors. One of these is responsible for the land and another for the air movement. Peak going velocity is limited to 160 km/h (100 mph) on the ground, but goes up to 180 km/h (112 mph) when airborne. Remarkably enough, the PAL-V Liberty can fly up to 500 kilometers long without the need to land even once.
The PAL-V is now going to have to clear all the necessary admissions and certificates before it can be released in the U.S. and Europe. So far, its retail price is estimated at $399,000.
Photo: Carscoops.com