Aston Martin unveils its concept luxury flying car
As an expression of interest in flying cars, luxury car maker Aston Martin has unveiled its concept of a personal aerial vehicle and it is as luxurious as you would expect. The three-seater aircraft, called the Volante Vision Concept was unveiled on Monday, and the concept vehicle's design is expected to make a debut at the Farnborough Air Show later this month. Here's more.
The hybrid-electric Volante Vision will have VTOL capabilities
Although still a hypothetical concept, Aston Martin envisions that the Volante Vision, like its eventual competitors, will have vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities. The vehicle will use a hybrid-electric power train, and will have a horizontally-mounted turboprop at the back, and two pairs of tilt-able and rotate-able propellers mounted on the Y-wing at the front of the vehicle.
Volante Vision Concept was developed in partnership with Rolls Royce
To develop the Volante Vision Concept, Aston Martin teamed up with super-luxury car maker Rolls Royce, Cranfield University, and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions.
Luxury goes hand-in-hand with Aston Martin
Despite the vehicle looking more like a fighter jet than a flying car, Aston Martin has (obviously) incorporated luxury into the design. The vehicle will come with large, over-sized seats sporting the iconic Aston Martin logo, have a stabilizer for comfortable flights, and will also have a heads-up-display system wherein autonomous navigation and other information will be projected on to the all-glass cockpit canopy.
Questions pertaining to cost and testing still remain
Despite the unveiling, major questions remain about the Volante Vision. Aston Martin didn't reveal the estimated cost of a Volante Vision. Neither did it reveal how much a ride would cost, if it's indeed deployed as a flying taxi akin to what Uber is trying to do. Additionally, the luxury car maker has yet to specify a date for test flights.
