Amazing first pictures of FLYING CAR called Pop.Up which could end traffic jams

THERE’S nothing more irritating than sitting in a traffic jam and watching the taxi meter rise.

But an incredible new taxi that both drives on roads and flies through the air could be the solution to travelling through congested cities.

Pop.Up, the first modular electric vehicle that can travel on both land and through air, was launched at the Geneva International Motor Show today.

Designed by Italdesign and Airbus, the vehicle can be added to two separate electric propelled motors that allow it to either travel on roads or fly.

The two-seater vehicle is capable of a vertical take-off or landing when attached to the flight propellers, which makes it perfect for getting around busy cities when you hit a jam.

Travellers would plan their journey and book their trip via an easy-to-use app, which would suggest the best transport solution according to the time of day, cost, traffic congestion and ridesharing demands.

The carbon-fibre cocoon, which can be attached to either motor, measures 8.5ft long, 4.5ft high, and 5ft wide.

For megacity journeys with high congested traffic, the capsule disconnects from the
 ground motor and is carried by a 16ft by 14ft propeller as a self-piloted air vehicle.

Once passengers reach their destination, the air and ground modules with the capsule autonomously return to dedicated recharge stations to wait for their next customers.

It is capable of travelling for 62 miles on a single charge.

The passenger can stay for the entire journey in the same capsule without worrying about switching between different travel modes.

Mathias Thomsen, General Manager for Urban Air Mobility at Airbus said: “Adding the third dimension to transportation networks will without a doubt improve the way we live and how we get from A to B.

“Successfully designing and implementing solutions that will work both in the air and on the ground requires a joint reflection on the part of both aerospace and automotive sectors, alongside collaboration with local government bodies for infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.”

Italdesign CEO Jörg Astalosch added: “Today, automobiles are part of a much wider eco-system: if you want to design the urban vehicle of the future, the traditional car cannot alone be the solution for megacities.

“In the next years ground transportation will move to the next level and from being shared, connected and autonomous it will also go multimodal and moving into the third dimension.”

Airbus said: “The feasible concept is the result of Italdesign and Airbus’ joint reflection on how to address the mobility challenges of megacities achievable for a majority, which has become one of the most pressing issues for commuters in megacities worldwide.

“With traffic congestion projected to hugely increase by 2030, the companies decided to combine their engineering expertise to tackle how to best achieve a sustainable, modular and multimodal urban mobility system – giving rise to the Pop.Up concept.”

The Pop.Up system is expected to launch between 2024 and 2027.

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