iCar has discovered the secret of flight: It’s the wheels

I always love to report on flying cars as much as I can.

This one, which is called the iCar, doesn’t need any wings or magic to fly but uses specially designed wheels. Apparently round spinning surfaces can create lift, which is called the Magnus Effect.

The iCar takes advantage of the Magnus Effect to turn its wheels into wings. On the ground, the iCar is a one seater sports car with four traditional wheels and giant cylindrical hubs. To get airborne, it extends its hubs outward to create a larger lifting surface, the hubcaps on the two front wheels swivel forward to turn into propellers, and the car is ready for takeoff. As it starts to move forward, the cylinder wings spin (driven by electric motors), and they generate enough lift to get the iCar airborne in about 1,500 feet.

Apparently, the car has a range of about 500 miles and has a cruising speed of 200 miles per hour.

As you can see, the iCar is in its concept stage, which is visible in this particular mock-up. I’m not certain what it is called the iCar, generally that small “i” gets associated with Apple products. Still, I hope to see this sometime flying over me someday.