Flying Car? Yes please. Interview with Terrafugia.

We have always talked of a flying car, but finally, we are getting super close.  I’ve been following the company Terrafugia’s progress for years and recently had a chance to meet up with one of their founders, Carl Dietrich, at the NY Auto Show.

Some background details on the team.  Carl graduated from MIT with a background in aerospace engineering.  The Terrafugia team is made up mostly of engineers (as expected).  The name of the hybrid is “The Transition”.


I asked Carl why they decided to come to the Auto Show.  He noted they were confident with the amount of pilot interest they are receiving.  However, they wanted to gauge the interest from sports car enthusiasts.  It was only the second day and they already gained two new customers.  (This is in addition to the 100 orders Terrafugia already has pulled in.)  Not too shabby when it’s coming in at $280,000 a pop.  Carl added the first run of production would be limited to 10 planes and they would handle manufacturing in their own offices.  They hope to start that process by end of year.

I asked about competition.  Carl noted they don’t feel competition from PAL-V, which has been getting a lot of new buzz as another concept flying car.  But speaking off buzz, no one got more traction at the Auto Show then The Transition.

Looking forward to watching this play out!

Click --> here <-- for the full TV interview and more deets.