Another flying car concept announced with 520-mile top speed

Greg Brown, a California-based designer with a background in piloting planes such as the F-18 fighter jet and the Boeing 777 liner, has unveiled his digital sketches of an aerial car with Bugatti looks. Dubbed the Fusion JC7, it comes equipped with two electric motors and two jet engines, potentially making it peerless both on land and in the air.

The so-called eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle) allegedly took two decades to design. The result is 7.5 meters (just under 25 feet) long and looks rather harmoniously built. When on the road, it folds back its side wings and the rear stabilizer to a certain extent to stay compact.

All land-based propulsion comes from dual Tesla motors delivering a joint 1,014 PS (1,000 hp / 746 kW). Hitting 100 km/h (62 mph) is a matter of four seconds with this kind of power, despite the bulk. LG Chem batteries run dry after just 241 km (150 miles) of land driving, though.

For the takeoff, the vehicle utilizes dual Williams FJ33 jet thrusters weighing as little as 145 kilos (320 pounds). The aircraft needs six seconds to reach 225 km/h (140 mph) and maxes out at 837 km/h (520 mph).

The theoretical range when airborne exceeds 1,200 km (745 miles), but there’s the issue of fuel economy: every 100 kilometers flown consumes 110 liters of jet fuel, a dismal 2.13 miles per gallon.

Once it touches down at the landing strip, the Fusion JC7 needs around 2,500 feet (slightly more than 750 meters) to come to a full stop. This is made possible thanks to carbon-ceramic brakes. The suspension travel is 254 mm (10 inches).

All calculations are theoretic and preliminary at this point. Brown claims he will need U.S. $20,000,000 to build the first functional prototype. A production eVTOL like this would cost a cool $2,500,000.