We’ve been promised a flying car for as long as I can remember. From The Jetsons to Back To The Future, we’ve been sold this dream for years and years. Owning something that starts out on the ground and ends up flying through the air is something I want to experience before I kick the bucket.
A Woburn, Mass., based company called Terrafugia is one of the many companies trying to bring this dream to reality, and its latest model, the TF-X, would melt my brain.
The TF-X promises to:
– be a plug-in hybrid on the ground
– drive like a normal car
– have a range of over 500 miles
– fit inside a single-car garage
It’s expected to hit the market in 2021.
Still, I’m sold. But is this company for real? Who are they? Well Terrafugia was founded in 2006 and won an MIT $100K Business Plan Competition, then started raising seed funding. To date, the company has raised $5.8 million.
Its first project, the Transition, went from prototyping to flying in about two years. It’s a street legal “car” that transforms into a plane and back. Check it out:
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Terrafugia was also tapped as a subcontractor on a project funded by DARPA called Transformer in 2010. In essence, the $65 million project aimed to build a “flying Humvee.”
The founders met in MIT and asked each other: “Want to build a flying car?”
Okay, they’re not messing around.
Next week I’m going to dig in deeper with Terrafugia, and if you have questions for the team, drop them in the comments and I’ll be sure to ask them.
