Flying car aims to light Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame with Toyota support

Engineers, supported by Toyota Motor, showed their flying car on Saturday, which they hope will have the ability to light up the Olympic flame for the opening event of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

“Cartivator”, a start-up group of about 30 engineers consisting of some young Toyota workers, began to develop a flying car “SkyDrive” in 2014 with the help of crowdfunding.

Head of Cartivator, Tsubasa Nakamura, stated that while the automobile was still at an early stage of development, the group anticipates to conduct the first manned-flight by the end of next year.

Throughout their demonstration, the existing test model had the ability to get off and drift on the ground for a few seconds. Nakamura stated the model required more stability so the model would be able to fly long and adequate to reach the Olympic flame.

Engineers of Cartivator are intending to make their flying car the world’s smallest electric car, which can be used in small urban locations, and hopes to advertise the automobile in 2025.

Last month, Toyota Motor and its group of companies decided to invest 42.5 million yen ($385,000) in the task for the next 3 years. Nakamura stated the group is working hard to enhance the design, intending to get additional investment from the company.