Ferrari based 'flying car' to take to the skies in 2 years

London, Nov 3 (ANI): A car, based on Ferrari, could be flying its passengers to their desired location, within just two years time.

According to a report in the Telegraph, known as the 'Autovolantor', the car is based on a 200,000 pounds Ferrari 599 GTB, and is being developed by "Moller International".

It will have the ability to take off vertically and hover, thanks to eight powerful thrusters which direct air down for take off. Vents then tilt so the car can fly forward.

The car is expected to be able to do 100mph on the ground and 150mph in the air. The calculated airborne range is 75 miles and ground range is 150 miles.

The car features a specially designed hybrid fuel and electric system to power the thrusters, creating as much as 800 horse power, according to designer Bruce Calkins.

Calkins estimates that the car will be able to fly at altitudes of up to 5,000 ft.

"The Autovolantor is powered by eight fans mounted in the fuselage of the vehicle. On the ground, these fans push the vehicle around with a firm but not-too-powerful thrust of deflected air," he said.

"Small vanes in the exit area of the ducts can direct the air forward or back, or remain in the neutral position for vertical take off and landing," he added.

According to Calkins, "Once in the air, the vehicle manoeuvres like a helicopter, tilting nose down to move forward, rolling right or left for changes in direction.""While maximum altitude could be much higher, the energy to obtain altitudes above 5,000 feet would be significant so we expect it to stay below that height," he added.

Moller chose the Ferrari to be the model for the ground-breaking machine because of its distinctive shape.

"The Ferrari 599 GTB has the general shape and layout we were looking for," said Calkins, who's also Moller's general manager.

"Using it allowed us to quickly modify a readily available scale model and run some wind tunnel tests to establish the technical feasibility of the project," he added.

Calkins said that though the company was initially skeptical about adapting a ground-vehicle with their technologies and make it work, the final design allowed them to quickly verify that it could in fact be done.

He added that the vehicle's ability to "quick hop" out of traffic could mean they attract the backing to fund the project.

The estimated cost of the 'flying car' would be around 500,000 pounds per car. (ANI)