Looking for a Flying Car

California Company Starts Making Flying Saucers

A flying saucer that glides 10 feet off the ground and carries two passengers has gone into commercial production.

Moller International, based in Davis, Calif., has begun to manufacture parts for its Jetsons-like personal flying pod, the M200G Volantor.

The M200G is the size of a small car and is designed to take off and land vertically.

• Click here to see a video of an M200 prototype in action.

Company founder Paul Moller, in a press release, called the craft "the ultimate off-road vehicle" as it is able to travel over any surface.

"It's not a hovercraft, although its operation is just as easy," said Moller, a retired professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California at Davis. "You can speed over rocks, swampland, fences or log-infested waterways with ease, because you're not limited by the surface."

The flying saucer is designed to fly at an altitude of up to 10 feet. The aerodynamic shape of its saucer-like body adds to lifting power when traveling at speed.

This allows the M200G to glide over terrain at up 50 mph, powered by eight of the company's Rotapower customized Wankel rotary jet engines.

Moller International has not arranged for training or licensing requirements to operate the vehicle, but it is prepared to offer demonstration sessions at its headquarters once the vehicle is ready for market.

The company has said the price for its M200G could start as low as $90,000, depending on the number ordered.