Toyota patents flying car

Toyota has patented its very own vision of a flying car.

Revealed online by Freepatentsonline.com, the poorly-drawn blueprint images initially appear to be a hoax but are claimed to be real patents submitted to the United States Patent office.

Filed under Shape Morphing Fuselage for an Aerocar, the patents for the outlandish flying vehicle were actually submitted back in 2014 but have only been published in June 2016.

While most might focus on features like the near-comical rear propeller on the child-like drawings, others within the industry say the patents are evidence that the firm is experimenting in advanced new fabrics that will one day replace steel and aluminium for the outer skin of vehicle bodies.

With a flexible exoskeleton cars of the future could shrink in the city and elongate on highways to reduce fuel consumption and even help vehicles to fly one day.

Crucial to this flexibility are the outer panels that bend and move to allow the wings to fold out.

The patent also shows how Toyota could one day package its wings within the body when not in use, but it's thought active aero will come first.

It's not the first time the large-volume manufacturers have shown off cars that rely on fabrics to allow its vehicles to change shape to suit its environment. BMW showed off a concept back in 2008 that also wrapped a car in a flexible skin for active aerodynamics.

The GINA used a flexible, water resistant translucent skin that covered an aluminium wire frame chassis that was powered by electric and hydraulic actuators. Turn on the headlamps and the small motors pulled back the fabric to reveal the headlamps in a similar way eyelids reveal the eyes.

The car industry is also known to be interested in incorporating, what's known as, ‘Magic Material’ on future cars. The material is based on something called Shear-Thickening Fluid (STF) that is fluid or 'soft' in normal circumstances but instantly hardens with an impact.

Currently, researchers using STF are developing bullet-proof vests and body armour using the soft material, but the same material will also have an automotive application as the car's skin would harden at speed to become more aerodynamic, but allow it to change shape in towns. Perhaps one day even sprout some wings...