Hailing the future taxi: Drone-car mashup model takes flight

A man gets out of the Pop.Up Next, a prototype designed by Audi, Airbus and Italdesign at the Amsterdam Drone Week in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. The two-seater vehicle combines ground and air transportation with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. A scale model of Pop.Up Next has driven and hovered across an Amsterdam exhibition hall, providing a glimpse into what could be the future of urban mobility. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

AMSTERDAM: A scale model of a flying drone-car drove and hovered across an Amsterdam exhibition hall, providing a glimpse of what could be the future of urban mobility. 

The “Pop.Up Next” prototype drone, being developed by aviation giant Airbus, automaker Audi and the Italdesign design house is made up of three separate modules – a chassis with wheels, a two-seat capsule for passengers and a four-rotor drone. The concept has been shown before, but a one-quarter-size scale model made its maiden public flight at the Amsterdam Drone Week convention.