Italdesign and Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, are possibly working on a futuristic car whose upper body can be airlifted by a drone to be flown above traffic congestion in crowded urban areas. It’s what Automotive News Europe is reporting (ANE, http://europe.autonews.com/article/20170303/ANE/170309922/italdesign-and-airbus-develop-car-that-can-be-airlifted-above-traffic ). According to ANE sources, a concept for the vehicle would debut at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday. Neither Italdesign or Airbus have confirmed the news at the moment.
The Italdesign-Airbus project seems to investigate a concept vehicle based on two modules, a self-driving chassis and a passenger capsule on top of. The concept is actually a development of the Capsula concept unveiled by Italdesign at the 1982 Turin auto show. It was based on an Alfa Romeo chassis with a body on top with different upper cabins, allowing to switch from a passenger car to a commercial van or a minibus.
According to ANE report, the Italdesign project is not related to a flying car project under development by Airbus called Vahana, but it’s rather a ride-sharing vehicle to be used as an alternative to helicopter in highly congested megacities.
Italdesign, Audi’s design and engineering subsidiary since 2010, continues therefore its research for innovative future mobility solutions while offering engineering and prototype services also to other customers beside the Volkswagen Group.
