Toyota-Backed Team Is Developing Flying Car

Toyota Motor Corp. is investing 40 million yen ($350,000) in an employee-led startup company formed to develop a small flying car called Skydrive.

The program, which is dubbed Cartivator, was started in 2012 by Toyota engineer Tsubasa Nakamura. About 30 other Toyota employees are working on the venture during their free time.

Independent contributors include Masafumi Miwa, a drone expert and associate professor of mechanical engineering at Tokushima University, and Taizo Son, the founder of the Japanese video gaming company GungHo Online Entertainment.

The group, which has tested several proof-of-concept scale models, aims to complete a manned test flight of a full-size prototype by the end of 2018. The company’s goal is to use Skydrive to light the flame at the opening of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Similar to other flying cars under development, Skydrive features a vertical takeoff design with four rotors. The full-scale model is expected to be about 114 inches long and 52 inches wide, which is said to be the smallest flying car being developed.

The team expects the vehicle to fly as high as 30 ft in the air at speeds up to 60 mph. Top ground speed is estimated at 90 mph.

To date, Cartivator has raised nearly 2.6 million yen via crowdsourcing. A video about the program and an early proof-of-concept design can be viewed here.