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http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/news/article.aspx?cp-documentID=10431391
By Canadian Auto Press
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang reinvented in Ferrari F99 duds
Sept. 18, 2008
Weird? Just a bit, but at least California-based Moller International is beginning its flying car prototype with good stock. The test mule is a Ferrari 599 GTB, or at least a scale model, and Moller insists that the end result is workable and has production potential.
Then again, this isn't the first of such projects undertaken by Paul Moller and the company bearing his name. He's been developing the flying car since the early '80s, and has yet to have his dream take flight. Two other creations include the Moller M200 flying saucer and the M400 Sky Car, both of which have received plenty of press on their way to obscurity.
But the question remains... will the Ferrari fly? (Photo: Moller)
Moller hopes to have a life-size prototype of the Autovolanter flying soon, thanks to a wealthy Russian businessman who apparently wants to commute to his Moscow office quicker than his competitors, in the style he's become accustomed to.
The car, says Moller, will be able to fly 120 km without refueling, and travel by ground for a total of 240 km, giving it the range necessary for short-distance commuting. With this in mind, it can't be a plane flown only by specially trained pilots, but rather needs to be easy enough to manage by an occasional weekend pilot.
The Autovolanter scale prototype shows helicopter-like blades enclosed within the car's "fuselage" for vertical lift, similar in principal to Britain's Harrier fighter jet or more recently, the Rolls-Royce LiftFan and 3 Bearing Swivel Module (3BSM) that provides the vertical lift capability for the EU's Joint Strike Fighter, otherwise known as Eurofighter.
While it looks as though the Autovolanter would get some vertical takeoff and landing capability it's more likely these fans are positioned to increase in-flight stability and allow greater computer control. The car-plane will also feature a large wing folded over its backside when not in use.
Surprisingly, only 800 hp is needed to achieve flight, says Moller, and while such power should be possible via a tightly sprung version of Ferrari's V12, the engine simply weighs too much to work. Rather, the Autovolanter incorporates a hybrid powertrain featuring a rotary gasoline engine making approximately 350 hp and an electric motor developing about 500 hp.
Just like one of Ferrari's Formula One cars the Autovolanter is limited by fuel restraints, only instead of going a few more laps on a fully filled tank the car-plane requires just the right balance of fuel on board, as the more it carries the heavier it becomes shortening its range. Increasing consumption further, the added weight of excess fuel means that it needs more to get airborne.
While the idea is wonderful in a George Jetson-meets-Enzo sort of way, news on the wire suggests Moller's dream may remain just that if considerable funding (approximately $5 million) doesn't intervene.
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