---
title: "6 Fantastic Flying Cars"
description: "Ever since the Wright Brothers successfully took flight, humanity's greatest minds have been trying to make automobiles fly."
date: "2015-12-17"
modified: "2015-12-17"
authors:
  - name: "The Drive Staff"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/the-drive-staff"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/vintage/1361/6-fantastic-flying-cars"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "airplanes"
---

# 6 Fantastic Flying Cars

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/carswithwings_hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com\</em\>*

On Dec. 17, 1903, the Wright Flyer took off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was the culmination of nearly a half-decade of R&D by brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. Most consider that 12-second, 120-foot aerial jaunt to be [the world’s first successful flight](<https://time.com/4143574/wright-brothers-patent-trolling/>) by a powered heavier-than-air flying machine. The fabric canard biplane was elementary in mechanically, a 12-horsepower horizontal four-cylinder driving dual propellers via sprocket-and-chain transmission system. In the eyes of many, on this day 112 years ago, modern aeronautical engineering was born.

It wasn’t long before the world started [combining the airplane](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb-PPJ_ouGo>) with another fledgling vehicle, the automobile. Well, *trying* to combine.

In honor of the Wright Brothers maiden journey, here are some fantastic flying cars.

![carswithwings\_art\_1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/carswithwings_art_1.jpg>)
*From 1928, here’s an attempt at the illusive ‘triple-threat,’ a car-slash-boat-slash-plane. Yes, that’s a rudder. And tailfin. And propeller. Yes, of course it’s British., *Photo by London Express/Getty Images**

![carswithwings\_art\_2.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/carswithwings_art_2.jpg>)
*Meet the '*Flying Maruti,*' a 2011 prototype by Indian innovator A. K. Vishwanath., *STR/AFP/Getty Images**

![carswithwings\_art\_3.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/carswithwings_art_3.jpg>)
*Moulton Taylor's novel ‘Aerocar,’ as seen in *Motor Trend’*s Nov., 1957 issue. “Your flying car of the future—it's here today,” it boldly announced. We’re still waiting., *Walt Woron/The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images**

![carswithwings\_art\_4.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/carswithwings_art_4.jpg>)
*More triple-threat, this one also from 1928 and with a distinct Norman Bel Geddes flair. Whether it actually worked is unknown. (Read: “doubtful”)., *Keystone/Getty Images**

![carswithwings\_art\_5.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/carswithwings_art_5.jpg>)
*That’s a man named A.H. Russell, of Nutley, New Jersey, inside a contraption of his own making, circa 1924., *ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images**

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