Hover cars are a thing of dreams…and the Back to the Future movie franchise. Now Volkswagen is showcasing a new car design that looks much like an egg but hovers off the ground.
Ever since watching “Back to the Future” and reading sci-fi stories, the idea of the “flying car” have always been there, floating around in the back of our minds. Volkswagen recently invited all its customers to come up with new ideas for cars. Obviously there would be a few people out there who had the idea of a flying car ‘hovering’ around in their mind. And while many people submitted what they believed to be the ultimate flying vehicle, one concept for a Hover Car greatly impressed the people over at Volkswagen that they created a CGI YouTube video to demonstrate how it would work.
The video below shows the initial design of the car and a very happy couple taking an initial drive in the vehicle! And while this design will not really hold your groceries, who cares – you are in a flying car bound to turn a few heads!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWh2qT9yiTo]
Now, unlike the DeLorean, this Volkswagen design only hovers one to two feet in the air and utilizes electromagnetic road networks in order to get to destinations. One of the plus-points of the Hover Car is its easy maneuverability and its ease of turning. It may not look very sturdy but there are sensors on-board the vehicle that can detect any possible obstacles. The on-board computer will slow down the Hover Car if it detects a possible crash.
The Hover Car was just one of the more than 110,000 submissions to the “People’s Car Project” launched by Volkswagen in China in 2011, but obviously one of the more memorable ones. According to the Head of Design at Volkswagen Group China, Simon Lasby, “The creative ideas from the ‘People’s Car Project’ give us a valuable insight into the wishes of Chinese drivers. The trend is towards safe cars that can easily navigate overcrowded roads and have personal, emotional and exciting design.”
Well, the people have spoken and they want to see flying cars! Will this happen in our lifetime – I can only hope so.
For other ideas in the advancement of transportation, check out the C-1 Electric Motorcycle or the Evacuated Tube Transport System.
