Toyota Hopes to Debut 'Flying Car' at 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
“Sky Drive.”
Toyota Motor Corporation is assisting in the development of a “flying car” it hopes will be ready for the 2020 Tokyo games. The Japanese automotive manufacturer has invested ￥42.5 million JPY ($386,000 USD) in the automotive – aviation startup called Cartivator, AP reports. Its mission is to create a fleet of flying cars in the future, and have large automobile manufacturers produce them widespread.
“I always loved planes and cars. And my longtime dream was to have a personal vehicle that can fly and go many places,” Cartivator’s project leader told AP.
The flying car project, which is aptly titled “Sky Drive” has taken off, but it is still in testing stages. Cartivator recently invited the media to witness its progress at an abandoned school field in Aichi Prefecture, and according to AP the flying car only flew as high as eye level for a few seconds. The viewing session was cancelled shortly after a propeller was damaged. Still, Toyota hopes the tech startup will have the vehicle ready to test with a pilot in 2019. The following year it hopes to debut Sky Drive at the 2020 games in Tokyo, where the pilot will light the Olympic torch.
