PAL-V unveils ‘world’s first production model flying car’

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is no longer just the stuff of children’s fiction, according to a Dutch company. Although sceptics suggest that flying cars will remain fantasy for many years to come, PAL-V has revealed the Liberty Pioneer, which it says is the world's first production model. At the Geneva International Motor Show, the company claimed that it is built for “those that want to be part of a unique group that writes history with us”. That ‘unique group’ will almost certainly need deep pockets: just
March 7, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is no longer just the stuff of children’s fiction, according to a Dutch company.

Although sceptics suggest that flying cars will remain fantasy for many years to come, PAL-V has revealed the Liberty Pioneer, which it says is the world's first production model.

At the Geneva International Motor Show, the company claimed that it is built for “those that want to be part of a unique group that writes history with us”.

That ‘unique group’ will almost certainly need deep pockets: just 90 of the limited edition Liberty Pioneer model will be made and the price of the vehicle has not been released. "Although more and more flying concepts are announced, only a handful of companies work on a real flying car: one that can both fly and drive, ideal for city-to-city mobility,” says Mike Stekelenburg, chief engineer at PAL-V.

“The combination offers unprecedented freedom: personal door-to-door flying mobility. The gyroplane principle not only provides us with a safe and easy-to-operate flying car but it also enables us to make it compact and within existing regulations, which is the most important factor to build a useable flying car,” he adds.

The vehicle has a dual control cockpit and electronic flight instrument system.

Related Content

  • Electric car value chain overturned
    November 7, 2014
    The market for hybrid and pure electric cars homologated as such is set to be US$188 billion in 2025 according to IDTechEx analysis. However, according to Dr Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx, the world has changed for cars overall and now big is not always beautiful for mainstream car manufacture. EVs will reflect this. Although Sergio Marchionne, boss of Fiat Chrysler, famously said six million units a year is needed for a car maker to be profitable, his head of research Pietro Perlo left to successf
    Read More
  • The new multi-technology MACE Smart reader from Nedap reads virtual credentials on smartphones for faster and better access cont
    January 18, 2018
    Nedap Identification Systems has developed a new, multi-technology reader for mobile access control as part of its MACE suite of products. The MACE Smart reader “is able to read virtual credentials on smartphones” says Nedap, as well as “conventional smartcards.” ”We are committed to unlocking the potential of smartphones as identification technology in access control systems,” says Maarten Mijwaart, General Manager of Nedap Identification Systems. This “new reader is proof of this commitment. In addition
    Read More
  • Jenoptik announces toll monitoring first at ITS World Congress
    October 12, 2016
    Jenoptik has entered a new era during this week’s ITS World Congress with the announcement of its first highway toll-monitoring contract. By mid-2018 it will supply global logistics services provider Toll Collect with up to 600 toll payment-monitoring pillars to monitor truck toll payments as part of the planned extension of compulsory tolls for trucks using Germany’s federal highways.
    Read More
  • EU road fatalities fall by 11% in 2010
    April 20, 2012
    The European Commission has published new statistics showing that EU road fatalities decreased by 11 per cent in 2010. However, country by country statistics show that the number of deaths still varies greatly across the EU. Most countries achieved double-digit reductions in the number of road deaths over the past year, including Luxembourg (33%), Malta (29%) Sweden (26%) and Slovakia (26%).
    Read More

Highlighted Content