.jpg)
Bored with supercars? Finding the Ferrari just doesn't get through traffic jams any better than the 20-year-old bomb in the lane next to you? The solution is the P12 jet pack.
Developed by New Zealand's Martin Aircraft Company, the P12 is on the cards to hit the market next year with prices starting around $150,000 to $200,000 with the company saying it hopes to be able to drop the price to around $100,000 as production scales up. That's about half the price of even a starter supercar -- and will zoom over traffic while they're still caught in the snarl.
While called a jet pack, the P12 isn't actually jet-powered. Instead it relies on ducted fans driven by a 2.0-litre, two-stroke four-cylinder engine to get you airborne. And it's bulkier than the streamlined versions beloved of movies and sci-fi comics, but it is a genuine VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) personal flying machine.
The overall weight limit -- including you -- is 330kg, of which the engine already takes up 60kg, so there's a margin for you carrying groceries and briefcase if you can figure out how to hang on to them.
You also have to be kitted out like a race driver while flying: helmet, neck restraint, boots and a fire suit. Plus ear plugs to dampen the 95-decibel noise rating.
The powerplant develops 150 kilowatts of power and 244 Newton-metres of torque, which gets the P12 to a respectable top speed of 74km/h, with cruising speed of 56km/h. That might not sound fast until you factor in that most urban streets are limited to 50km/h -- and that a lot of CBD traffic moves at about 15km/h.
And it's likely to feel even faster at the P12's operational ceiling of 900 metres, which means you'll be able to leap over tall buildings in a single zoom. The manufacturer says you should keep above 150 metres for most of the time to alow the P12's safety devices -- including the rocket-deployed ballistic parachute -- time to operate if needed.
Outer suburban commuters will have to stick to their cars, with the P12 only able at this stage to travel for about 30 minutes on a full tank, with a range of about 32km.
Martin is focusing on commercial sales, primarily to firefighters and other emergency services who could use the P12 to reach difficult places quickly. However, the company is also taking orders from private buyers with $5,000 to slap down as a deposit -- and the ability to get the basic Sport Pilot license to required to drive it.
This reporter is on Twitter: @karlapincott
