Prototype Aircraft Demonstrated Saturday

A group of about 30 engineers, including some from Toyota, are working on a "flying car" concept they hope will be able to light the Olympic Flame for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

Cartivator began developing the "SkyDrive" flying car in 2014, crowdfunding much of the effort, according to a report from Reuters. Now, while the project is still in a "early stage" of development, according to team leader Tsubasa Nakamura, a manned prototype could be flying by the end of 2018.

In Saturday's tethered test, the Cartivator aircraft was only able to hover near the ground for a few seconds. More stability and range is needed for them to fulfill their goal of lighting the Olympic Flame, Nakamura said.

The end goal of the project is to build and sell a small "flying car" that would be used in urban areas. The group hopes to be able to have a product on the market by 2025.

While the initial round of funding was done through crowdsourcing, Toyota recently invested 43.5 million yen, or about $385,000, into the project for the next three years.

(Image from video posted to Facebook)

FMI: www.facebook.com/cartivator