Terrafugia Flying Car Hybrid

We're trying to figure out how the term "range anxiety" will apply to the Terrafugia TF-X flying car. Is it going to be applicable to the pilot or to others in the sky? The reason we ask is because the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid, so those batteries better well be charged up. But, according to the potential manufacturer, flying the vehicle will require only five hours of training, so getting too close could produce a different kind of anxiety.

Massachusetts-based Terrafugia says the four-seater plug-in hybrid plane, despite what we think are some awful short wings, will be capable of vertical take-offs and landings, Design & Trend reports. It will have two 600-horsepower electric motors and a 300-horsepower fuel engine that should give it a range of at least 500 miles. The company says only five hours of pilot training will be required because of the plane's connection to a data network that will essentially control the aircraft's flight path. Either way, the plane will fit in a single-car garage. Which is nice.

The name Terrafugia should be familiar because we've been covering the company since the first prototype was announced in 2006. The company made news last year with a test flight demonstration for its Transition flying car. That model is supposed to start sales in 2015 or 2016 carrying an estimated price tag of $279,000. While we wait for that, you can check out a nicely CGI'd video of the TF-X hybrid below.