Terrafugia Inc. announced today, May 6, that they're planning on delivering their flying car, the Transition, to customers by 2015 or 2016 according to a company press release.
As the company continues to test the Transition, they also announced this week they've started working on its successor.
"This is the right time for us to begin thinking about the future of the company beyond Transition development," Carl Dietrich, Terrafugia's chief executive and chief technology officer, said in a press release. "We are passionate about continuing to lead the creation of a flying car industry and are dedicating resources to lay the foundations for our vision of personal transportation."
Click here to learn more about the new model.
The new model will be able to carry four people, fly over 200 mph, and take off and land vertically. The model will be called the TF-X according to Dietrich.
The TF-X is still in its earliest stages of design, but the company is positive that the vehicle is "physically possible" using technology that is already available according to a company press release.
The vehicle would be "safer" and more "convenient" than flying in a typical private plane and would operate using fly-by-wire controls.
Customers would not have to be a licensed pilot because the most difficult elements of flying the TF-X would happen "automatically" through computer controls. The company compared the model to the concept of self-driving cars, another innovation that Terrafugia feels will become common the next decade or so.
No release date has been set for the Transition or the TF-X. The company has spoken with the Federal Aviation Administration however about both vehicle's and said that conversations have gone well so far.
"(The agency's) willingness to consider innovative technologies and regulatory solutions that are in the public interest and enhance the level of safety of personal aviation," said Terrafugia in a press statement.
Terrafugia was founded in Woburn, Massachusetts by pilot-engineers from MIT.
Related Articles:
Woman Eaten by Vultures in 45 Minutes After Falling 900 Feet Off a Cliff in France
NASCAR Talladega 2013: 16-Car Wreck on Lap 184 Knocks Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch Out of the Race (VIDEO)
Toyota to Recall 11,489 FJ Cruiser Vehicles Due to Headlines That May Blind Drivers
GM Reveals 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country Luxury Pickup Truck (PHOTOS)
Hyundai Motor Chief: No Plan To Build New U.S. Plant For Now
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
