It was a common thought in the 1950s that we’d all be driving flying cars by now. As each subsequent decade passed, it seemed like we were not getting any closer to this dream. However, with progress advancing on the Moller Skycar M400, flying cars may finally be a reality soon.
Unfortunately it won’t be something we’ll all get to drive even after development is finished, because the expected cost is half a million dollars. It would be no surprise if the actual price is much higher than projected (isn’t that always the case?) when it does come out.
Once private air travel was the exclusive preserve of the rich and famous. Sadly, it still is, unless you happen to have the lion’s share of half a million lying dormant in your bank account. The Skycar, though, has whipped the Firebox team into a collective frenzy with its vertical take off capability and vaguely enticing 380Mph top speed.
Unlike previous prototype Skycars, the M400 can comfortably seat four people, making a day trip to the south of France with your mates the equivalent of a two-hour blast down the motorway. That’s when it goes on sale, of course, which isn’t just yet
Moller Skycar M400 Specs
- 4 passengers
- Vertical takeoff capability
- Runs on automotive gasoline
- 380 mph top speed (at 20,000 feet)
- 300 mph cruise speed at 29,000 feet (80% max range)
- 210 mph cruise speed at 29,000 feet (max range)
- 140 mph cruise speed at sea level (max range)
- 5500 fpm maximum rate of climb
- 900 mile max range
- 750 pound net payload
- 28 mpg fuel consumption
- 29,000 foot operational ceiling
- 2400 pound gross weight
- 645 horsepower
- 35 foot diameter takeoff and landing area
- Includes emergency parachutes
Firebox.com is listing the Moller Skycar M400 for £324,000 ($502,200 / €369,360).
Note that the top picture is pure photoshop. The M400 has never done anything other than brief hovers, and the last time it did that was in 2003. Yesterday, the first public flight of the Skycar was abruptly cancelled with no future date announced.
Agree. This guy has been fos for years.
I still want one though.
It is quiet simple, the Moller Skycar M400 will never make a successful maiden flight with any compliment of its 4 passenger capacity ! And will never have a production cost below a cool $ million dollars !