Greg Brown, a designer from Napa, Calif., and Dave Fawcett, an engineer from Airboss Aerospace, are designing a concept vehicle called the GF7, a flying jet-propelled car.
While the vehicle drives on the ground on electric motors, it can fly to 38,000 feet high and at speeds of 550 miles per hour (mph), according to Gizmag. The car accomplishes these feats with a 3,500-lb thrust jet engine.
The car is still in early stages of design.
Fawcett is responsible for engineering other aircrafts, such as the Maverick, the Viper and the Javelin Jets, Discovery News reported.
The vehicle will provide space for four people and will have a high cruising speed of up to 100 mph.
"The more we got into the systems the more we realized how complimentary they were," Brown said. "You can save jet fuel by using the electric motor to drive to the runway and start the turbine engine when you need it. The high-torque electric motors assist the jet to accelerate for take-off reducing take-off roll - it will be like an afterburner take-off. Four wheels braking with large road tires reduces stopping distance, and the ample battery power makes for an excellent backup to support environmental and avionics systems in the air. To top it off, the turbine engine produces plenty of extra electrical capacity to charge the batteries."
The developers aim to finish flying prototypes in about four years, Gizmag reported. The price for the car is estimated to be between $3 and $5 million.
"The GF7 can increase the size of the region a person can influence in a day without the dependence on a team of support personnel," Brown said. "It saves time by flying fast and eliminating delays resulting from startup, shutdown, transferring to a ground vehicle and backtracking to a waiting airplane. With a GF7 there is no need for travel coordinators, or a staff of pilots and drivers at the ready. You don't need to pay for airport services, a rental car, or aircraft tie-downs, which also means you can avoid busy airports."
The flying car's customer base is slated to be regional business managers who travel between cities, along with people who need to work at airports that don't provide ground transportation, Gizmag reported.
"We're going to make an aircraft that delivers an amazing flying experience," Brown said.
