The automotive world has made remarkable progress in recent years. Between the eponymous Teslas, autonomous cars or machines with hundreds of horsepower, we must admit that innovations are raining down.
And among these, you have no doubt heard of flying cars like the Samson switchblade. Anyway, here we decided to present you 4 interesting facts about this awesome flying car.
1. This plane-car has a futuristic design
Designed in the USA, the Switchblade is a flying sports car with folding wings and a retractable tail. Also, note that the machine got its name from the way the wings fold up, like unfolding a knife. To illustrate this a little more, in a few words, everything happens under the cabin when you decide to fly.
The tail folds up in a T-shape behind the big engine. You should know that Samson, the designer of the futuristic machine, affirms that thewhole process car – plane conversion (using a push button) takes less than three minutes. True, there are still a lot of tests to review, but what she leaves to appreciate is already spectacular.
2. An amazingly functioning car
The Samson switchblade is powered by a liquid-cooled 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine that uses 91-octane gasoline and produces 190 horsepower. This mimpressive engine that acts as a generator powers an electric wheel when dealing with a simple car and a propeller engine when it comes to flying.
Interesting fact: in the market, the switchblade is considered a motorcycle in many countries of the world, because it only has three wheels. Samson therefore claims that “his motorcycle” can reach speeds of up to 201 kilometers per hour. In flight, the Switchblade would have a cruising speed of 257 kilometers Ha range of 724 km and a fuel tank of 125 liters.
It should be noted that a clear visibility of 335 meters is required for take-off and another of 213 m is essential for an optimal landing. Add to that when it’s on its wheels, the Switchblade is the size of a family car with a height of 1.5m and a footprint of 5.1m by 1.8m.
3. Samson’s flying car hides a developing niche
Note that the Switchblade isn’t the only elaborate flying car. Indeed, several other brands around the world are also working on the development of this nnew form of personal transportation. This is also the case of a Slovak company which has already started selling the two-seater AM 4.0 and recently announced the launch of the four-seater AM Next for 2027.
4. The Bolide is sold as a kit to make it “affordable”
To make the product affordable, the Switchblade was designed to ship as a partially assembled kit. According to the FAA, it will meet the criteria for an aircraft category called ” Experimental/Homebuilt», where the buyer must carry out at least 51% of the assembly himself. It should be noted that the manufacturer will offer the plane-car for astarting price around $150,000although the final price has yet to be determined.