The Parajet SkyCar is biofuel-powered land/air hybrid vehicle that serves as a car on the ground and an aircraft in the sky. It runs on biofuel and features an aluminum frame. It will be soon considered a green equivalent of a Toyota Corolla – but can fly!

SkyCar is the brainchild of Neil Laughton, an ex-Royal Marine Officer and SAS soldier and adventurer. He learned to fly just four years ago, which makes his leadership of the SkyCar project all the more amazing.  Laughton has a sled to the North Pole, jet skiing around England and motorcycling into the Sahara giving Richard Branson (Virgin Founder) a run for his money.

The SkyCar is essentially the result of an unholy union between a dune buggy and a paraglider. Beneath its parachute is a 1,000-cc four banger pulled from a Yamaha R1 motorcycle that produces 140 horsepower and somehow runs on biofuel. It can drive the rear wheels or the huge propeller. The production models will be made of aluminum to increase range and performance.

Parajet says recent advancements in flexible-wing technology and parafoil design have been key to developing the SkyCar because they allow for more precise handling and increased safety compared to conventional rigid wings. The company claims the “parawing” is so compact it can be folded in just minutes.

In fly mode, the the Skycar will take off at 35 mph from any airstrip longer than 650 feet. It will hit a top speed of 68 mph and a cruising altitude of 2,000 to 3,000 feet and a max altitude of 15,000 feet — though we don’t know who’s be brave enough to venture so high, given that hypoxia and altitude sickness become an issue at 10,000 feet if you aren’t in a pressurized cabin. Range is 185 miles. Impressive isn’t it?

Flip the car to drive mode, which takes three minutes, and you’re looking at a rear-wheel-drive vehicle the company says will do zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds and top out at 100 mph. If a cop every tries to pull you over, simply launch into Flying Car mode and give him a wave and a wink of an eye. Oh, and drop him some donuts.

The SkyCar will be on its first voyage soon and wil take off from London, travel south through France and Spain, and then across parts of Western Africa before landing in Tombouctou, a city in Mali that borders the Southern Sahara.

So far, previous attempts at flying cars haven’t gotten all that far, but there are some legit companies backing Laughton’s project. They include London bank C. Hoare & Co; Future Capital Partners, a structured finance firm that specializes in green projects; and Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, the first man to cross Antarctica on foot.

Will the SkyCar be the first to become commercially viable? We’ll know more in a few months.

Question: Where is the first place you will go with the SkyCar? Comment below.

Photos by Parajet.

Related posts:

1. ParaJet SkyCar – Do you ever want to fly one of these?
2. A Real Solar Powered Flashlight
3. Wearable Technology Gives You Real 6th Sense
4. Video – SixthSense Technology Is The Real iPhone Killer
5. Conveniently folding bike