Volvo’s parent company bought flying car startup Terrafugia

Volvo’s Chinese parent company, Geely, has acquired a flying car startup named Terrafugia — a deal that may result in winged Volvo vehicles hitting the skies in the future.

The Transition is praised for its vertical take-off capabilities, has a sleek design and a reported cruising range of 400 miles (643 km) and 100 miles per hour (160.93 km/h).

Additionally, the hybrid vehicle is capable of reaching an altitude of 10,000ft (3048m) and a ‘useful load’ — how much an air craft can carry in addition to its own weight — of 500lbs (226.8kg).

The Transition also has a full-vehicle parachute for when drivers want to get back to the road and flight technology to stop pilots from crashing.

Terrafugia’s Transition is one of the only flying cars to be approved by the General Aviation Administration, meaning the hybrid is certified as a Light Sport Aircraft.

Carl Dietrich, CEO and CTO of Terrafugia, foresaw his company creating three different hybrid vertical take-off and landing vehicles (VTOL): One that provides meaningful value to the existing pilot population, a second product for urban short-range travel and a third that resembles pop-culture vision of flying vehicles.

If Geely continues with this model we can expect to see a variety of Volvo hybrid flying vehicles in the future.

Image Credit: Terrafugia

Source: Engadget