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It’s nominally roadworthy, so it must be a car; but it’s also got wings, so it must be a plane. Whatever it is, ferret or flamingo, the Terrafugia Transition is an ugly piece of work with a name only a mother could love. (Terrafugia roughly translates from the Latin to “escape the Earth”.) This automotive miscegenation has been cleared by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for road-use. A sheaf of rules and regulations was rearranged for this Massachusetts-based hybrid—high-traction tyres for takeoff and landing, which are prohibited on multipurpose vehicles; lightweight, shatterproof, clear polycarbonate cockpit windows instead of laminated glass; folding wings; a rear-facing propeller. The concessions it makes to road safety are crumple zones, driver/passenger airbags and a carbon-fibre passenger cell. But the Terrafugia still has a year ahead to iron out kinks before it goes on sale for $250,000, with 100 already pre-ordered—mostly in high-tourism, credit card-delinquent Florida. Could be a big flight risk, then.
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