Famed car maker Rolls Royce has designed a splendid electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, which is intended to carry up to five people.
(Rolls Royce eVTOL Flying Car video)
The vehicle could travel at speeds of up to 250 mph (402 km/h) for approximately 500 miles.
Speaking ahead of this week's Farnborough Airshow, Rob Watson, head of the company's electrical team, said: "We are well placed to play a leading role in the emerging world of personal air mobility and will also look to work in collaboration with a range of partners."
Older science fiction fans recall James Blish's 1957 novel Cities in Flight in which he described flying taxis:
The cab came floating down out of the sky at the intersection and maneuvered itself to rest at the curb next to them with a finicky precision. There was, of course, nobody in it; like everything else in the world requiring an IQ of less than 150, it was computer-controlled...
The cab was an egg-shaped bubble of light metals and plastics, painted with large red-and-white checkers, with a row of windows running all around it. Inside, there were two seats for four people, a speaker grille, and that was all: no controls and no instruments...
(Read more about the tin cabbie)
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