Backed by Toyota, engineers race to build flying car ahead of Tokyo Olympics

TOYOTA CITY -- Engineers, supported by Toyota Motor Corp. have demonstrated a flying car which they hope will be able to light up the Olympic flame for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

Cartivator, a start-up group of about 30 engineers including some young Toyota employees, started to develop a flying car, dubbed SkyDrive, in 2014 with the help of crowdfunding.

The head of Cartivator, Tsubasa Nakamura, said that while the car was still at an early stage of development, the group expects to conduct the first manned-flight by the end of 2018.

During their demonstration last week, the current test model was able to get off the ground and float for a few seconds. Nakamura said the design needed more stability so the prototype would be able to fly long and high enough to reach the Olympic flame.

Engineers at Cartivator are aiming to make the flying car the world's smallest EV, which can be used in small urban areas, with hopes to commercialize the car in 2025.

Last month, Toyota Motor and its group of companies agreed to invest 42.5 million yen ($385,000) in the project for the next three years. Nakamura said the group is working hard to improve the design, hoping to receive further investment from the company.

A host of companies are competing to develop the first flying car or vertical take-off and landing vehicles. Uber Technologies Inc. announced its plan to deploy its flying taxi service by 2020 in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dubai. Airbus Group is also working on developing a flying car under its division called Urban Air Mobility.

But flying car developers still face hurdles, including convincing regulators and the public that the vehicles can be used safely. Governments are still grappling with regulations for drones and driverless cars.