Toyota Files Patent for Flying Car

Toyota Motor Corp. has filed a U.S. patent for an electric flying car.

The patent is for a “dual-mode” vehicle that can operate on land or in the air. The proposed vehicle would use rotors that deploy from the wheels to provide vertical lift.

On land, the vehicle would be driven like a fixed-track vehicle in which turning is accomplished by decreasing the speed of the wheels on one side or the other (left). The wheels are bolted to heavy-duty struts that extend from two central pivots mounted to the body of the car.

To transition to flight mode, the struts lower the vehicle to rest on small appendages on the underbody before takeoff. The wheels then pivot upward in a gullwing-type manner—tilting horizontally—above the car.

Earlier this year, Toyota announced that an employee-led Japanese startup company called Cartivator is developing a flying car called Skydrive. It’s not clear if that vehicle is using the same technology described in the Toyota patent.

Cartivator aims to have its vehicle ready for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, with a goal of using it to light the flame at the opening ceremonies.