Toyota successfully tests a flying car for the first time, and plans to start production in 2023.
SkyDrive showed off it's futuristically styled flying car - it looks very like something out of Star Wars - at the Toyota Test Field, one of the largest in Japan and home to the car company’s development base. It was the first ever public demonstration of a flying car in Japanese history.
The car, named SD-03, manned with a pilot, took off and circled the field for about four minutes. “We are extremely excited to have achieved Japan’s first-ever manned flight of a flying car in the two years since we founded SkyDrive … with the goal of commercializing such aircraft,” CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa said in a statement.
“We want to realize a society where flying cars are an accessible and convenient means of transportation in the skies and people are able to experience a safe, secure, and comfortable new way of life.”
“We wanted this vehicle to be futuristic, charismatic and desirable for all future customers, while fully incorporating the high technology of SkyDrive.” Sadly, he made no mention of price and none have, thus far, been revealed.
The SD-03 is the world’s smallest electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle and takes up the space of about two parked cars, according to the company. It has eight motors to ensure “safety in emergency situations.”
The company hopes to make the flying car a part of normal life and not just a commodity. More test flights will occur in the future under different conditions to make sure the safety and technology of the vehicle meet industry standards. Presumably, the authorities in Japan are now busy figuring out licensing and parking issues...
The success of this flight means that it is likely the car will be tested outside of the Toyota Test field by the end of the year, with the intention of launching the flying car in 2023.