GCC residents for James Bond-style 'flying car'

The "flying car" will not be officially launched in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) market, but it seems that residents here do want to own one.

US-based Terrafugia Inc has ruled out plans to sell Transition - the world's first flying car - in the GCC, but has confirmed it has received a number for inquiries from the region.

"Our primary focus is the US market, although we have certainly generated interest worldwide. A number of inquiries have been received from the GCC countries for Transition and we do view that region as a viable market," Richard Gersh, Vice President - Business Development, Terrafugia, told Emirates 24/7.

The company did not give a country-wise break up of the inquiries, saying, "We do not track inquiries by country."

As a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) in the United States, Transition can be flown with a sport pilot (or higher) certificate and a regular drivers license.

"We expect similar treatment in most countries," Gersh added.

The current price point for Transition is between $200,000 and $250,000.

The company website says the "flying car" vehicle was built over 2007-2008 and testing was completed in 2009. Over 80 aircraft have been reserved, representing an order backlog of over $16 million with the first delivery scheduled for late 2011.

Dubai has more than one million registered vehicles serving 1.9 million residents, according to 2010 data published by the Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC).

With the number of light vehicles (primarily cars, excluding light buses and light mechanical vehicles) at close to 900,000, that works out to about two cars for every man, woman and child residing in the emirate.

Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank in a recent report said the UAE has 182,000 high net worth individuals (HNIs) and five billionaires, while Saudi Arabia has 278,000 HNIs and 10 billionaires.

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