2001 Aston Martin Db7 Vantage Volante Convertible 2-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

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Everybody's doing flying cars, so why aren't we soaring over traffic already?

"Where's my flying car?" has been the meme for impending technology that never materializes since before there were memes. And the trough of disillusionment for vehicles that can take to sky continues to nosedive, despite a nonstop fascination with flying cars and a recent rash of announcements about the technology, particularly from traditional automakers. Earlier this month, Toyota applied for an eye-popping patent for a flying car that has wheels with spring-loaded pop-out helicopter rotors. The patent filing says the wheels/rotors would be electrically powered, while in on-land mode the vehicle would have differential steering like tracked vehicles such as tanks and bulldozers. At an airshow in July, Aston Martin unveiled its Volante Vision Concept, an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle it developed with Rolls-Royce. Aston says the Volante can fly at top speeds of around 200 mph and bills it as a luxury car for the skies. Audi used the Geneva Motor Show in March to unveil a flying car concept called the Pop.Up Next it developed with Airbus and Italdesign. If the Pop.Up Next, an electric and autonomous quadcopter/city car combo, gets stuck in traffic, an app can be used to summon an Airbus-developed drone to pick up the passenger compartment pod, leaving the chassis behind. Audi said that the Pop.Up Next is a "flexible on-demand concept that could open up mobility in the third dimension to people in cities." But Audi also acknowledged that at this point it has no plans to develop it. The cash-stoked, skies-the-limit Silicon Valley tech crowd is also bullish on flying cars. The startup Kitty Hawk that's backed by Google co-founder Larry Page announced in June that it's taking pre-orders for its single-seat electric Flyer that's powered by 10 propellers and is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. The current version can only fly up to 20 mph and 10 feet in the air and has a flight time of just 12 to 20 minutes on a full charge. The Flyer is considered a recreational vehicle, so doesn't require a pilot's license. Uber says it plans to launch its more ambitious Elevate program and UberAIR service in 2023. "Uber customers will be able to push a button and get a flight on-demand with uberAIR in Dallas, Los Angeles and a third international market," Uber Elevate promises on its website.

Aston Martin Brough Superior AMB 001 starts testing, shows off new color

Aston Martin announced last fall it would be dipping a toe into the motorcycle world with the help of bike builder Brough Superior. The first bike is the AMB 001, and it's finally undergoing track testing and development. The turbocharged 180-horsepower motorcycle is shown on video powering around a race track. It offers a good look at the bike's double-wishbone girder-style front end in action, a signature of Brough Superior bikes. Aston Martin Brough Superior AMB 001 View 5 Photos Besides a look at the bike on track, the two companies showed a version of the bike with dark red tinted carbon fiber panels. It also has some spiffy red brake disc spokes. We also get a close look at the instrument display, which actually appears to be on a smartphone that fits in a slot on the tank. Not many other details have been revealed. The companies announced they would only build 100 examples of the AMB 001. Each one will cost 108,000 Euros — or just shy of $120,000 — and they'll be delivered at the end of the year. Related Video:

The Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro is a Le Mans-derived supercar

The Aston Martin Vulcan is a car filled with superlatives. It's one of the fastest and rarest cars in the world, with just 24 of the 820-horsepower track-only supercar in existence. The car packs a 7.0-liter naturally aspirated V12, a 6-speed sequential transmission, and some of the most visually striking bodywork of any modern performance car. Aston Martin is now offering an AMR Pro performance pack with tech derived from the automaker's Le Mans-winning racecars. The main difference between the original car and the Vulcan AMR Pro model is aero. The car gets a whole host of upgrades that help channel air over, under, and around the car better than before. The car's other big change is a shorter gear ratio. The goal was to make the Vulcan AMR Pro more planted and more responsive in an effort to reduce lap times. The front wheel arches get louvred carbon-fiber panels to extract air and reduce lift. Dive planes have been added to the nose, complimented by a large splitter. Both will help front-end lift and improve steering response. More efficient use of carbon fiber means the engine cover weighs about 11 pounds less than before. Out back, the Vulcan AMR Pro gets a new dual-plane rear wing. It's far bigger and more elaborate than the standard car's wing, featuring a 20mm Gurney flap. The slotted endplates feature 15mm Gurney flaps. It simply looks the business. Aston Martin says all of the additional aero bits increase downforce from 2,323 lb-ft to 2,950 lb-ft. That's a huge increase on any car, much less one that was already packed with aerodynamic tricks. By comparison, the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE that was the class winner at Le Mans only has 2,290 lb-ft of downforce. The Aston Martin Vulcan was a car designed without limits, restraints, or regulations. It's a track-only car, but it's not built for any racing series. It's simply meant to go around a track very, very fast. With the AMR Pro pack, those 24 owners should be happier than ever. Related Video: