Renault made a 60-year-old car fly

Renault has built an electric car Air4, based on one of its 60-year-old hatchback designs, that can travel at a height of 700 metres above the ground, with a peak speed of around 94 kilometres per hour. 

The automobile company claims that its flying Air4 is more of a giant quadcopter with a car frame stuck on top, rather than an actual, seamless flying car.  

Renault says that its electric vehicle concept is not a sitting duck, but can fly, indeed. 

The Air4 concept is based on the Renault 4 hatchback which was first launched in 1961 with a standard internal combustion engine.  

It is pertinent to mention here that all-electric flying cars as a concept are not exactly rare. After having been the topic of science fiction and sudden enthusiasm spurts among ambitious individuals, flying EVs have become a matter of steady and practical discussions in recent times.  

Drone taxis, or aerial electric vehicles capable of autonomous navigation, is being explored as possible means for mass mobility by organisations such as NASA, as well as private companies such as Uber. 

Also read: Flying taxis startup The ePlane Company closes $1 million seed round

Car companies, for their part, have also showcased that going futuristic does not necessarily mean abandoning our favourite car designs from yesteryear.  

The Honda Urban Mobility EV concept has long been hailed for being a striking balance between the new-age advances of shared mobility and the design elegance of the 1970s and 1980s. 

More recently, Hyundai also showcased an all-electric concept of its iconic Grandeur luxury sedan from the 1980s. The car looks just as villainous and funky as before with its style and pixel LED lights.  

The Renault Air4 does not quite have the same elegance (you have to lift the entire body panel to enter its one-seater interior), but at least there’s no shortage of imagination here.