The Parajet Skycar: From London to Timbuktu on Biofuel

A 3,700-mile intercontinental journey in a high-tech swamp boat? Bring it on
By Mike Spinelli Posted 11.12.2008 at 1:45 pm 13 Comments

The Parajet Skycar: From London to Timbuktu on Biofuel: The Skycar Expedition Team plans to cover the distance of 3700 miles from London to Timbuktu in a vehicle resembling a high-tech Everglades swamp boat. Its builders say the two-seat Parajet prototype will drive on land or reach 100 mph at 2,000-3,000 feet in the air. Skycar Expedition

If you were wondering, Timbuktu isn't some mythical city with a skyline of emerald buildings housing a race of unicorn-men. It's a real place, situated in the west African country of Mali, a city historians cite as an intellectual and spiritual center of the 15th and 16th centuries. It's also some 3,700 miles from London. Keep that in mind when you consider a scheme to cover those miles in a car that looks like an Everglades airboat designed by Luigi Colani.

The plan's proponents call themselves the Skycar Expedition Team, a name that could have figured in a Gerry Anderson TV show. But they're serious about the trip. Skycar designers include aviation engineer Gilo Cardozo, who says the Skycar will be able to toggle between "road mode" and "fly mode" in three minutes. Cardozo is best known for flying to Mount Everest in his Wankel rotary-powered Parajet, a personal aircraft he designed.

What makes the Skycar different from other flying cars is its unorthodox method of staying aloft. Still in the prototype stages, the vehicle uses a similar method of flight as Cardozo's Parajet -- a parawing that's force-fed with air by a large fan. In the case of the Skycar, that fan is driven by a 140-horsepower Yamaha sportbike engine set up to burn ethanol. The team says an air speed of 100 mph is possible at an altitude of 2,000 to 3,000 feet.

Skycar is also expected to generate sports-car performance on terra firma, with a zero-to-60 time of around 4.5 seconds and similar off-road capability as a motorcycle or dune buggy. That kind of thing should come in handy in the Sahara.

The Skycar Expedition Team says it expects to get underway sometime in January 2009.

[via AutoblogGreen]

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13 Comments

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yetihehe
11/12/08 at 3:08 pm

So here is my flying car! And it's dune buggy too! Purely awesome.

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pcusack
11/12/08 at 7:01 pm

this is cool but it doesn't explain how it flies or anything like that.
i assume it flies with wings or by air uderneath but i dont see anywings and there are no pictures in "fly mode"
having said this it looks very fun.

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Bones less
11/12/08 at 8:22 pm

I just googled it and it turns out that it flies using a parachute like an ordinary paraglider.

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bingo710
11/12/08 at 9:07 pm

Oh my god, this is mind bogoling (amazing) and so kooly-o. I wish I lived in London right now and could afford this car.

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orajnamalik
11/13/08 at 12:10 am

cool. but i doubt that it uses "a parachute like an ordinary paraglider"

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Chipper Smoltz
11/13/08 at 1:23 am

Am still not that hooked onto the idea of flying cars, can't imagine them flying around in the air like huge mosquitoes or flies. Makes me cringe at the thought of a possible mid-air collision.

I hope that before these types of cars become mainstream - there would be some sort of "auto-pilot" or sohisiticated guidance systems that will be in place.

I have a crazy idea - let's try to build bridges instead that would link all the major continents and archipelagos thus eliminating the need for airplanes and ships. Did someone say - "In your dreams...?!" (^_^)

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sci-hi-fi
11/13/08 at 6:57 am

@ orajnamalik

Well, it does. I Googled it as well, and it does. Although "parachute" may not be the appropriate term.

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thomas-guarneri
11/15/08 at 12:40 am

I would really like to see a video of this car in action. This car would be a very appropriate item to expect in the future in my opionion. However I cant wrap my mind around how multiple cars would be flying with different destinations.
If anyone has any video links to the car, im interested.

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Starscream
11/15/08 at 8:05 pm

"Bond, James Bond"

A gadget car Q would be proud of, such a cool idea using a paraglider as a basis for a flying car.

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shamoo
11/29/08 at 11:04 pm

That car sounds awesome!!!

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shamoo
11/29/08 at 11:04 pm

That car sounds awesome!!!

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rolodex

from Pipersville, PA

12/19/08 at 8:32 pm

can you imagine how dangerous it would be to have people flying around? some people are bad drivers already on the ground. just imagine them in an airplane. otherwise, a very cool car/plane

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Ruri
01/09/09 at 12:09 am

So I may finally get my flying car and this one looks like it might actually be affordable vs cost half a million like other flying cars.

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