Remember about the funny statement made by our Entrepreneur Development Minister of Malaysia about showcasing a flying car in Malaysia this year? Well, hold on to your seats - not that Goodyear has to do anything with this but they are actually designing an airless tire which could potentially be part of a flying car in the future.
Called as the Goodyear Aero, this airless tire is a new concept that acts like a propeller and a wheel at the same time. In a propeller mode, there are bladed fans spinning around the wheel to help the car to float and to make it happen, the wheels will need to flip upwards which requires a different mechanism. According to Goodyear Chief Technology Officer, Chris Helsel isn't really looking to release commercially but rather to "spark discussion about transportation options for the future".
"With mobility companies looking to the sky for the answer to the challenges of urban transport and congestion, our work on advanced tire architectures and materials led us to imagine a wheel that could serve both as a traditional tire on the road and as a propulsion system in the sky," Helsel said.
Honestly, it's hard to imagine Goodyear Aero would work. As aviation experts point out, it's tough to find the right balance between the car's weight for the airless tire and in turn, the rotation speed to lift the car floating in the air without damaging itself. We shall see, as Goodyear plans to showcase the concept airless tire at the Geneva Motor Show this year.
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