Porsche wants in on the flying car business of the future, signs with Boeing

Porsche is dipping a toe into air travel. The German sports car manufacturer announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing to “explore the premium urban air mobility market and the extension of urban traffic into airspace.”

If the idea becomes fully realized one day, this could mean a Porsche-badged personal flying machine. Somewhere, the Porsche purists are shuddering. This next bit from the Porsche press release may cause a similar amount of discomfort: “Porsche is looking to enhance its scope as a sports car manufacturer by becoming a leading brand for premium mobility. In the longer term, this could mean moving into the third dimension of travel,” says Detlev von Platen, a member of Porsche’s board for sales and marketing.

The partnership will lead to Porsche and Boeing completing an analysis of the market for a personal flying vehicle. As of today, the two are already working on a Porsche/Boeing concept for a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. Sounds a bit like a helicopter to us, but the teaser image looks much more futuristic.

Porsche says it completed one study in 2018 that predicted demand for such a vehicle will rise considerably after 2025. That study also indicated that air travel would transport passengers quicker and more efficiently than our current means of personal vehicle travel, which isn’t a shocking revelation. Hyundai recently announced its plans for an in-house flying taxi development team, so some car companies are starting to get behind a Star Wars-like flying future. However, until the Porsche Flying Car 1 arrives, we’ll continue to enjoy our old-school, land-based sports cars.