The world’s first flying car

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The world’s first flying car that you can buy - only if you can wait long enough

Flying cars are slowly becoming a reality. Here's one of them that is up for sale globally

A car that can be driven and also be flown through the sky - for long, such a vehicle has been only a part of the imagination. There have been many references to such a vehicle in popular culture. For instance, we see flying cars zipping through in the futuristic world of the cartoon series The Jetsons. And who can forget the movie Back to The Future where Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown are seen driving, flying and also time travelling in the famous Delorean DMC -12. Though we’re not at all close to time travelling yet but flying cars are slowly becoming a reality. Many startups around the world have made prototypes of such cars but none of them have come into production stage. Now, a Dutch aircraft manufacturer Pal-V has launched, what has been billed as ‘world's first flying car production model’, at the Geneva Motor Show. Here’s a look at some of its pictures:

SPECIFICATIONS | Pal-V Liberty, as the car has been christened, can seat two people and has a fuel capacity of 100 litres. Its maximum range of distance in the drive mode is 1,315 km and in the flight mode is 500 km (with a single person operation). It weighs 664 kg and can take a baggage of about 20 kg. It packs a 100 horse power engine and runs on petrol.

SPEEDS | The car can toggle between drive and flight modes in 10 minutes. In the driving mode, the Pal-V Liberty can reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h. It can go from 0-100 km/h in nine seconds. In the flight mode, the maximum speed it can achieve is 180 km/h.

DOES ONE NEED A FLYING LICENCE? | The company clarifies on its site that its not a helicopter but yes, you do need a licence, in fact, two of them. The company on its website states - as the PAL-V Liberty is a Dual Mode Vehicle, the pilot must have a driving licence and a flying licence. For everybody’s safety it is important that all flying vehicles in the sky are piloted by someone who has had the appropriate flight training.’

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY | There are two different models of the Pal-V Liberty. Currently, the company is making the Pioneer Edition available and that too only 90 of them. Once the Pioneer models are sold off, the Pioneer Liberty Sports models will be delivered. The price of the vehicle has been put on request for now, however, you can reserve the car at different price points listed at the website. The first deliveries will start by 2019 in Europe. Pal-V Liberty is being developed in compliance with US and European regulations that are acknowledged in most countries. The company plans to make it available in every country in the world in future. (Source: All pictures and information from www.pal-v.com)