Los Angeles, CA -- Dezso Molnar doesn’t think that plug-ins, hybrids or EV vehicles are our only answer when it comes to the future of green motoring.
The sometimes inventor, sometimes rock star, land speed record assistant (he’s worked as crew chief on the Spirit of America land speed record team) and all the time adventurer has another idea: give your car wings, instead.
“There are only two ways to make a vehicle light,” he said during his presentation at this year’s Automobility tech conference on the eve of the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show media days. “You have to pedal it, or give it wings.”
Now, as you can tell from the photos here, Molnar’s projects (he’s operating two examples of his work – called the Molnar G2/GT -- at the moment) look more like bikes than cars, which is something he has no problem with as long as it works as planned. More importantly, he wants to help move the public away from the cartoony/James Bond image of flying cars and towards accepting that they offer a real alternative to the traditional modes of transport.
“I want to make sure we treat these vehicles as successful engineering endeavours,” he said.
Flying ace Deszo Molnar
Of course, the questions will always arise, mainly surrounding the legality of these vehicles in the eyes of transportation governing bodies in North America and beyond. Molnar affirms, however, that the red tape is not as thick as one may think.
“The regulatory situation is great,” he said. “It’s actually a lot easier to build a plane and put it in the air than it is to build a car or motorcycle and put it on the road.” Apparently, if you can prove that your vehicle is air worthy, you’re good to go. After all: what better way to prove a flying car’s worth than having the faith to put your own life on the line to fly it? According to Molnar, in California where his shop is based, there remain unused flight testing areas that were developed by NASA and the U.S. government during the ‘50s and ‘60s that are now open to the public. They make for a perfect place to test his various projects. Hopefully, others will stand up and take notice as well.
In an effort to boost support and gain more acceptance for flying cars, Molnar is putting his money where his mouth is and is already in talks about creating a flying car racing championship. Yes, you heard that right.
“It’s what’s happened to every motorcycle or tennis racquet,” he said. “Competition breeds more development.”
It may seem out there, but Molnar is convinced that it’s the wave of the future, as long as people can learn to accept it.
“Everybody is trying to go to the same place at the same time,” he said. “My idea was to make a car where all you had to do was fly in (to your final destination).” Then, he says, you could deploy your flying car’s wheels and drive out, eliminating the worry about the required space for takeoff in a congested area.
