Italdesign teams up with Airbus to propose a flying car... halfway there

While the major challenges facing the automotive industry right now are the electrification of vehicles and autonomous driving, some want to add others that are more complex and risky. Flying cars, which we have already seen could technically be viable, face other kinds of problems that make them unfeasible. Still, manufacturers keep playing with the idea, and on this occasion it is Italdesign and Airbus who are proposing a car of this kind.

In this case, the Geneva Motor Show, which opens its doors this week, will be the stage where they present a modular car in which the cabin could fly off in the event of a traffic jam. According to them, it would not be a private car but a kind of shared vehicle, and it is certainly interesting, if it were not for the many problems it faces in being able to fly over inhabited areas.

A modular prototype

The car we will see under the umbrella of the aviation giant and one of the best-known design studios (which now also has a production car line on the market) will be a modular car. On one hand there will be a base made up of a chassis that allows different modules with various uses to be fitted. This second module will consist of a cabin that will also be a drone. In the event of a traffic jam, it could separate from the chassis and take the user to their destination.

The base module will also be able to get there autonomously, so there will be no problem getting the complete car back in a matter of moments. To transport a person safely, the drone must measure 5 x 5 meters, so it is quite a complex thing to achieve beyond a prototype.

This is not a new idea, at least as far as a modular vehicle with an interchangeable cabin goes. Back in 1982 Italdesign already proposed a concept car called Capsula with these features, although of course without autonomous capabilities and without an attached drone. This is the one you can see at the top of the article, because we do not yet have images of the new conceptual model. In any case, we will not have to wait long. Aren’t you curious to see what this unusual vehicle will look like?

Via | Quattroute