2000 GeTrax SkyCoupe
History
March 1995: Famous British inventor Toby Clark Peterson published his book “New Age Transport: What Holds the Future of Movement”. On that book, he predicts that the future of automobiles lies on air-based door-to-door transportation and “normal” road cars will soon be history by the year 2020.
April 1996: With the investment from the Japanese tech firm Nishikawa Inc, Toby went on to found GeTrax in Oxford. GeTrax is founded to develop “air-based personal and family mobility vehicles”, including flying cars.
May 1996: Project A01, GeTrax’s first (and last) project has started internally.
July 1997: The Asian economic crisis has arrived. The project came to an abrupt halt due to financial issues.
September 1997: Toby Clark Peterson announces that he is resigning as CEO of the company, due to a scandal involving himself.
December 1997: GeTrax is now officially acquired by Nishikawa Inc.
March 1998: Project A01 is now restarted thanks to improved economic conditions.
March 1999: The result of Project A01, aka the SkyCoupe flying car is shown to the public. Featuring a removeable wing module, and a lightweight design, combined with a low price the SkyCoupe is planned to be “the mass market flying car”.
January 2000: A new factory is built in northern Wales, as the main factory for GeTrax to produce the SkyCoupe and other vehicles.
April 2000: The SkyCoupe is officially on sale and it was priced at $29,200 for the base model.
June 2000: GeTrax is on trouble as the company is having serious financial issues. Days later, the company’s spokesman has announced the end of SkyCoupe production due to lower-than-expected sales.
December 2000: the final SkyCoupe has officially left the factory. Total production units: 55.
January 2001: GeTrax announces bankruptcy after unable to make up ends. Most of the company’s assets were sold to Nishikawa Inc. and other companies.
Specs
| SkyCoupe | |
|---|---|
| Construction | AHS Steel Space Frame, Aluminium Panels |
| Seating | 4 Seats |
| Engine | 899cc Inline 3 Turbo + Dual Rear-Mounted Propellers |
| Horsepower | 110 hp @ 7000 RPM |
| Torque | 112 Nm @ 4600 RPM |
| Top Speed | 236 km/h |
| 0 - 100 | 8.6 s |
| Max Air Speed | 200 km/h |
| Service Ceiling | 9000 m |
| Useful Load | 200 kg |
| Range | 345 km |
| Wings | Fiberglass, Removeable |
| Weight (with wings) | 695 kg |
| Price | $29,200 |
More Pictures!
(This was an entry to CSR124 but I feel it’s a bit too risky to launch something like this and get binned so I decide that I’ll just post it here anyway.)