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M’sia to release ‘flying car’ prototype by end 2019, claims 1-hour KL to Penang trip possible Source: https://mothership.sg/2019/10/malaysia-flying-car-end-2019/ Malaysia is expected to launch its “flying car” prototype at the end of 2019, according to Malaysia’s Minister of Entrepreneur Development. Malay Mail reported that Minister Mohd Redzuan bin Mohd Yusof did not give parliament an exact date, but said that “air mobility” will continue to undergo further development. The prototype was previously planned to be unveiled in October 2019, according to The Star. Flying cars by Vision 2020 Khairy Jamaluddin, the youth chief of UMNO, had parliament in stitches after he said he was glad to have lived to see his dream of “flying cars”. “Vision 2020 was introduced when I was 15 years old. We imagined that there would be flying cars by then. I would like to congratulate the minister for being the only one to keep the promise of Vision 2020,” he said cheekily. Vision 2020 is a goal set forth by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who called for Malaysia to be a developed nation by 2020. Khairy also asked Redzuan when the public can expect to see the entrepreneur development minister riding the “flying car”. In response, Redzuan said that Mahathir had barred him from the air mobility vehicle, unless it was insured. He also gave more details about the vehicle, stating that it can accommodate two to three passengers. Redzuan also said that the “flying car” can cut short travelling time, and claimed that travelling between Penang and Kuala Lumpur will only take an hour, compared to four hours on the road. Flying car timeline On March 2, Redzuan announced that the “flying car” will not be for sale to the public, but companies such as Grab are interested to use it for taxi services. A model of the proposed “flying car” was first unveiled in March this year, at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2019 exhibition. The model drew a lot of flak for being little more than a glorified drone, although Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was reportedly pleased with the idea when he visited the booth. Later, it was clarified that the “flying car” that was being developed was actually a drone that can carry people and cargo. The passenger drone can reportedly carry a load of approximately 150kg to 200kg, and fly about 50m above ground level at 60km/h for between 30 and 90 minutes of flying time, according to the vehicle’s developers. On Aug. 20, it was announced that works to construct Malaysia’s first “flying car” was 85 per cent complete. The world awaits with bated breath.