Flying Car - The Terrafugia Transition

Last month was the first registered flight of the Terrafugia Transition, which makes this a significant marker in the development of the flying car. While there have been many attempts to develop a flying car in the past, the Terrafugia Transition might be the most promising in the modern era. The prototype was debuted in early 2006, and the project spearheaded by five pilots, all of whom graduated from MIT, has come a long way since.

The Transition transforms between road use and flight by folding down its wings in only 30 seconds. With its wings retracted, the Transition is compact enough to fit in a normal-sized garage, which means owners won’t have to rent hangar space at their local airport. Indeed, they can just drive the Transition home, as it uses the same gas engine (of unknown displacement) to power its front wheels on the road as it does its propeller when in flight.

Today’s test flight at the Plattsburgh International Airport in New York went well with Phil Meteer, Colonel, USAFR, at the controls. Terrafugia claims the Transition can fly up to 450 miles at over 115 mph, and since it is categorized as a Light Sport Aircraft by the FAA, a Sport Pilot license will be required to fly one. Check out the videos below from the flight, as well as videos of Terrafugia’s own maiden voyage after the jump.

OFFICIAL FLYING CAR PRESS RELEASE

Historic Takeoff Makes “Flying Car” a Reality

The Transition® Roadable Aircraft Completes
Successful First Flight

Boston, MA – March 18, 2009: Terrafugia, Inc., a game-changing aircraft company, announced today the first flight of its Transition® Roadable Aircraft Proof of Concept. Often referred to as a “flying car”, the Transition® is a two-seat aircraft designed to take off and land at local airports and drive on any road. Transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 seconds.

An historic milestone for aviation, the flight comes after six months of static, road and taxi testing. The Transition® cruises up to 450 mi at over 115 mph, can drive at highway speeds on the road, and fits in a standard household garage. The vehicle has front wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. Both modes are powered by unleaded gasoline from a regular gas station.

“This breakthrough changes the world of personal mobility. Travel now becomes a hassle-free integrated land-air experience. It’s what aviation enthusiasts have been striving for since 1918,” says Carl Dietrich, CEO of Terrafugia.

By giving pilots a convenient ground transportation option, the Transition® reduces the cost, hassle, and weather sensitivity of personal aviation. It also increases safety by incorporating automotive crash structures and allowing pilots to drive under bad weather.

For its first flight, the Transition® was flown by Phil Meteer, Colonel, USAFR (Retired) at Plattsburgh International Airport in Plattsburgh, NY. The chase aircraft was piloted by Giora Guth.

Categorized as a Light Sport Aircraft, the Transition® requires a Sport Pilot license to fly. The Proof of Concept will undergo additional advanced flight and drive testing and a pre-production prototype will be built and certified before first delivery. Refundable airframe reservations are being accepted.

Terrafugia (terra-FOO-gee-ah), based in Woburn, MA, is comprised of a team of award-winning engineers who have been advancing the state of personal aircraft since 2006. Founded by five pilots who are graduates of MIT and supported by a world-class network of advisors and private investors, Terrafugia’s mission is the innovative expansion of personal mobility. “Terrafugia” is Latin for “escape from land.”

The Transition® will temporarily be on exhibit at the Museum of Science, Boston on March 18, 2009.

Terrafugia would like to acknowledge and thank its corporate sponsors: SolidWorks Corporation and CableOrganizer.com. Additionally, the following business partners have contributed to a successful first flight by furnishing equipment and services: Garmin International, Dynon Avionics, CO Guardian, David Clark Company, Bose Corporation, Icom Inc. and Air Graphics LLC.

Shelby GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition

Carol Shelby personally took the wraps off one of the most bad-ass street legal Mustangs ever built: the Shelby GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition. This boss Mustang proves 750 HP is always a fitting tribute to end a current model.

Named for the Top Fuel drag racer, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, who drove for Shelby in 1968, the Shelby GT500 Super Snake Prudhomme Edition features a lengthy listed of custom modifications. Aside from the 750 horsepower (800hp on race fuel) Kenne Bell-supercharged 5.4-liter V8, the car features a fiberglass full-tilt front end, Shelby rear drag wing, eight-point roll cage, six-piston front brakes, rear seat delete, coilover springs and Bogart wheels all in a street legal package you can purchase for $149,995. Now if $150K seems a bit high for you, Shelby will allow you to bring your own, previously purchased, GT500 in and they’ll do the retrofit for the low low price of $99,995. Production will be set at a very limited 100 examples…oh and if you didn’t catch it before, it’s STREET LEGAL.

Shelby Press Release:

Shelby Automobiles, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI.PK) has returned to drag racing with a limited edition Prudhomme Edition Super Snake package for the Shelby GT500 Mustang. Carroll Shelby and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme unveiled the program during a private reception at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif. The drag racing inspired 800 horsepower post title package was a collaboration between Shelby Autos and Don Prudhomme, who successfully drove a top fuel car for Carroll Shelby in the 1968 NHRA season.

Each year, the Automobile Club of Southern California holds a dinner to support the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum on the first night of the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals. In honor of the fortieth anniversary of the first race that Mr. Prudhomme drove for Carroll Shelby, the Shelby Autos team unveiled the new drag racing package that they developed together over the past year.

“Don is an exceptional drag racer and I’m proud that he drove my first Top Fuel car in 1968,” noted Carroll Shelby. “By leveraging Don’s experience, we turned a really good car into a great drag racer that will beat up on the MOPAR and bow tie brigade right out of the box.”

The program is a post-title package for 2007-2010 Ford Shelby GT500 cars already in the hands of owners. To create the Prudhomme Edition Super Snake, Shelby Autos pumps up the 5.4L supercharged engine to produce 800 hp on race fuel or 750 hp on 93 octane pump gas. The Shelby includes a Kenne Belle modified air intake sticking out of the hood in the tilt front end, a five-point Impact safety harness and a Borla side exhaust system. A front and rear adjustable BMR racing suspension and drag tires are included to improve traction during launches; optional street tires are available. For a more aggressive stance and improved aerodynamics, side lower rockers are incorporated. Only 100 total packages at $100,000 (not including car) will be offered.

“Working with Don on this project was a great experience for our design team,” noted Amy Boylan, president of Shelby Automobiles. “Carroll and Don earned their stripes in competition over the years, so we had to build a car that would continue their racing domination. Our Prudhomme Edition GT500 Super Snake builds on that legacy and gives Shelby enthusiasts today a way to rule the quarter mile in their town.”

By the mid-1960s, Carroll Shelby and Don Prudhomme were both at the top of their respective games. Prudhomme was one of the winningest Top Fuel drag racers in the country. Shelby was a racer-turned-builder of Cobras, GT40s and Mustangs who won endurance and road racing championships worldwide. His company even offered drag racing packages for privateers to compete in their Cobra or Shelby Mustang on the strip.

“The Snake” and the Cobra’s creator teamed in 1968 for an NHRA ride. Prudhomme’s Ford Cammer-powered rail made its debut as “Shelby’s Super Snake at the 1968 Winternationals. He won the race and drove the rest of the season under the Shelby banner.

Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s successful racing career included winning the NHRA funny car championship four times. He was the first funny car driver to exceed 250 mph. In 1994, he began managing his own racing team, which won the Top Fuel championship in 2002 and 2003. Prudhomme was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.

“It’s been a great opportunity to work with Carroll and the Shelby Autos team on this amazing program,” added Prudhomme. “I’m honored that Carroll gave me this honor to build a car that’s true to his legacy and my efforts to move them across the finish line first. The car can be tuned to deliver over 800 horsepower on race gas, which should pretty fast. It’s a well sorted out package that is capable of dusting the competition in the Shelby way.”

The Prudhomme Edition Shelby GT500 Super Snake is intended to be truly a road and track car.

“The thing I really think is cool about this car is that you can drive it both on the track and on the street,” added Prudhomme. “It reminds me of how drag racing used to be back in the day when we would drive our cars to the drag strip, race them, and drive them home at the end of the day. That’s maybe the neatest thing about this car.”

Chrome Mercedes McLaren SLR

Amazingly over the top is one way to describe this Mercedes McLaren SLR. Dressed from top to bottom in chrome (including that reflective chrome-tinted glass) it causes quite a scene outside the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. While this driver has a license plate number so high we’d assume it belonged to a pauper, we know it takes some serious scratch to buy an SLR, and can only imagine the price tag necessary to go ahead and chrome the living daylights out of it.

One must wonder though, if he went through all that effort to retrofit chrome to the SLR, why not just buy an all-chrome Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang.

I guess the Financiapocalypse is really hitting us all, isn’t it?

All Chrome Mercedes McLaren SLR

1,635 HP sounds like an LOT of horsepower, but when it comes to the Mosler MT900S Red Devil, there’s even more to the story. Its owner, Mike Vietro, called off the dyno run at a measly 5,600 RPM with power still climbing 70 HP every 100 RPM. Corvette Mike estimates he could have seen as much as 1,800 HP had he let the test continue up to 6,200 RPM. So how does his LS7-powered supercar do it?

Moslery MT900S Red Devil

The 7.0-liter, 550 HP stock engine is equipped with twin turbos from Nelson Racing Engines and needs actual race fuel to hit those figures. This Mosler actually carries an auxiliary fuel tank expressly for that purpose, while the main tank hold premium pump gas, which automatically switches the engine into “low 1,000s mode.”

The engine will now be put through a final tuning phase before taking to the track I the near future with the aim of setting many speed and performance records.
[via World Car Fans]

When we first heard that The Dark Knight was taking on Toyota’s F1 car, it sounded like an argument that started on the playground. “What’s faster, Batman’s Tumbler, or an F1 car?”Well, it would have remained a purely theoretical question if it wasn’t for the bosses at Toyota and Batman – The Dark Knight movie crew. We suppose after the questions that have been posed and answered like “What’s faster, a Lamborghini or a fighter jet?”, Toyota decided to have a go at it and brought the Batmobile to Silverstone for some run-ups to this past weekend’s British Grand Prix.

We’ve got the video footage above and some high-resolution photos to below… Hit the jump for the photos.

Admittedly the video isn’t as cool as we were hoping for. I guess the Tumbler would have just embarrassed the F1 car too much for a head-to-head race, so they just created the promo video. But still, its great to see such a movie prop from The Dark Knight CAN actually hit the race track and not seem too bad.

And if you’re the best of the best in Formula 1 and in Los Angeles, you’re certainly can’t go hit up Avis to rent a Ford Focus. Well Claus Ettensberger, owner of the So. Cal. tuning shop CEC, to the rescue. Ettensberger was kind enough to provide Lewis Hamilton with a fully-kitted Techart Porsche 997 911 during his stay in L.A.

I’m sure even an after market 997 Porsche 911 is a bit of a demotion from his McLaren Formula One car, but there are definitely worse ways for Hamilton to get around while mixing it up with L.A’s elite.

It also seems that Hamilton got some time in/next to a more appropriate Mercedes Benz CL as well. What’s this? He gets 2 cars?? Its good to be F1 Champ.

The idea of an all electric Pony car or Shelby Cobra might not sit well with some people, but California-based company, HST International has developed a pair of electric vehicles ready for sale based on the iconic pony cars. Dubbed the Tjaarda EVX Mustang and HST Shelby Cobra EVX, the 2 new cars will be on show at the 34th Annual Toyota GP in Long Beach, California.

Isn’t the throaty grumble of the exhaust part of the allure for these cars though? Where’s the passion when simply pressing the go pedal and the 1,355Nm (1,000ft-lb) of torque at 0 rpm and a peak output of 300hp shoots you from to 60 MPH in only 3.9 seconds for the Stang, and 3.2 seconds for the Cobra? Sure that’s damn fast, and you can get a 100 miles on an 8 hour charge at 120V, or a 3 hour charge at 220V, but still, don’t we want to keep our E-cars separate from our muscle cars? The Tjaarda EVX Mustang starts at $80,000, while the Cobra comes in at $125,000.

The Lamborghini Murcielago isn’t exactly one of those automobiles that needs much improvement, but that sure hasn’t stopped people from trying. This time, Japan-based Premier4509 has launched a limited edition kit for the Murcielago. For those of us who have an extra $28,000 lying around, you can buy what is essentially a carbon fiber bumper, sidepods and adjustable rear spoiler. Wheels and exhaust tips are “coming soon.” As far as carbon fiber body additions go, the touches are nice.

Photos and press release are below.

Premier4509™ Introduces Murcielago Design Package

Paramount, Calif. – (March 24, 2008). Premier4509™ announced that it will be developing a new line of products that have been created for performance luxury cars. The Premier4509 line launches with the performance based aero enhancement package for the Lamborghini Murcielago. The kit is limited to 300 sets worldwide and will feature a numbered serial plate.

The complete package includes a full front bumper with the boxed bumper support system, side pods and a rear bumper with optional adjustable rear spoiler. The total price is an MSRP at $28,000.00

The team responsible for the Premier4509 line has been developing performance products for nearly twenty years, holds two world racing records and owns more than twenty design awards.

The pieces will be manufactured with a combination of composites made of Carbon Fiber and Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) and will be hand crafted by a handpicked team of experienced technicians in Japan.
“The Murcielago is a difficult car to design with,” said Hironoa Yokomaku, president of Premier4509. “The boxed bumper support system makes it tricky to elaborate on designs. This is why many other companies will only offer a front bumper skin or a lip spoiler. Our product quality is good enough to do it the right way and offer the full set up. ”

The Premier4509 collection will even expand later this year to include more products for cars such as Lamborghini, Bentley, Aston Martin, Maserati and more. The Premier4509 line will include limited edition wheels, soft goods and executive class accessories.

Fireblade Concept – The New 2009 Corvette ZR1

It’s hard not to like the New Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Any time you take a standard Corvette, give it more power, lighter weight, bigger brakes and a better suspension, our supercar-loving hearts start thumping right out of our chest.

It’s the Bat-Corvette, its the Corvette Reventon! NO! Its called The Fireblade Design Concept, which is basically a re-skinning of the already potentially iconic Corvette ZR1 by South African designer Idries Noah.

Now, currently, this is nothing more than a 3-D dream car, but it’s still making at least one of us feel that pants-tightening excitement we haven’t felt since the first time we spotted the ZR1 in an embargoed press event around the time of the last Detroit Auto Show.

Follow the link for some high quality pictures of the Fireblade Design Concept at seriouswheels.

The idea for the FireBlade was to “reflect raw power” and to “be a brute, a car that has muscle car qualities”, according to designer Noah. Inspired on such mythical vehicles like the Shelby Daytona and Corvette Stingray, the FireBlade would have a promising career if it ever had the chance to see the production lines.

While most enginge transplant stories can go by mostly unnoticed, this is one of those rare occurances that you should stand up and give this man a round of applause. It takes a certain kind of crazy to remove the already nice-for-the-time 2.2 liter 4-cylinder Lotus engine and it’s Citroen gearbox from an otherwise impeccably well kept 1981 Lotus Esprit and shoehorn in a monster 4.2L German V8 of aluminum and steel. Read more about this wild project thanks to the miracles of forums at Motorgeek.

I have to wonder how a 4.2L Audi V8 fit into a 4Cylinder space to begin with?

Check out the thread at Motorgeek here.