{{Short description|Unrealized concept of a flying personal vehicle}}
[[File:Maglev transportation scene.webp|thumb|CGI mockup of a hypothetical maglev hover car based on the Tesla Model X and Spinner (Blade Runner)]]
A '''hover car''' is a personal vehicle that flies at a constant altitude of up to one yard (three feet) above the ground and used for personal transportation in the same way a modern automobile is employed. The concept usually appears in science fiction.
In science fiction, it is capable of elevating itself some distance from the ground through some repulsion technology, presumably exploiting some short range anti-gravity principle so as to eliminate most friction forces which act against conventional vehicles. Other works feature vehicles that hover by having magnetic plates lined along roads, operating in a similar principle to maglev. The capability of hovering above the ground eliminates the need for tires, and unlike an air-cushion vehicle, it does not produce a dust cloud.
The closest devices are the hovercraft, which elevates itself above a water or level hard surface using a cushion of air retained by a flexible skirt, and the hovertrain, which is a type of high-speed train that replaces conventional steel wheels with hovercraft lift pads, and the conventional railway bed with a paved road-like surface, known as the "track" or "guideway".
==Efforts to build air-cushion hover cars== thumb|Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air Car, late 1950s
Air-cushion hover cars are hovercraft.
In April 1958, Ford engineers demonstrated the Glide-air, a {{convert|3|ft|m|0|adj=mid|spell=on|disp=flip}} model of a wheelless vehicle that speeds on a thin film of air only 76.2 μm ({{frac|3|1000}} of an inch) above its table top roadbed. An article in ''Modern Mechanix'' quoted Andrew A. Kucher, Ford's vice president in charge of Engineering and Research noting "We look upon Glide-air as a new form of high-speed land transportation, probably in the field of rail surface travel, for fast trips of distances of up to about {{convert|1000|mi|km|disp=flip}}".<ref>[http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2009/07/06/cars-that-fly/ "Cars That Fly"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612122901/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2009/07/06/cars-that-fly/ |date=2011-06-12 }}, ''Modern Mechanix'', October 1958, pp. 92–95</ref>
In 1959, Ford displayed a hovercraft concept car, the Ford Levacar Mach I.<ref name= the-engineer2019> *{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618154305/https://www.theengineer.co.uk/floating-new-idea/ |archive-date=June 18, 2019 |url= https://www.theengineer.co.uk/floating-new-idea/| title= June 1960: Floating a new idea| first= Jason| last= Ford |date= 18 June 2019 | work= The Engineer | via= theengineer.co.uk | access-date= 11 May 2020}} *{{cite news |title=Locomotion |url=https://s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/centaur-wp/theengineer/prod/content/uploads/2019/06/18150539/Page-45-Image-on-930.pdf | work= The Engineer | via= theengineer.co.uk |access-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503235645/https://s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/centaur-wp/theengineer/prod/content/uploads/2019/06/18150539/Page-45-Image-on-930.pdf |archive-date=2022-05-03 |page=930 |date=June 3, 1960}} </ref>
In August 1961, ''Popular Science'' reported on the Aeromobile 35B, an air-cushion vehicle (ACV) that was invented by William Bertelsen and was envisioned to revolutionise the transportation system, with personal hovering self-driving cars that could speed up to {{convert|1500|mph|km/h|abbr=on|disp=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Air Cushion Vehicles [Bertelsen] Collection | url=https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/NASM.1994.0013.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203013949/https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/NASM.1994.0013.pdf | archive-date=2021-12-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Everything Was up in the Air for the Aeromobile-200 Until the 1962 International Trade Fairs | the Old Motor | date=4 September 2018 | url=https://theoldmotor.com/?p=171542 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Chicago - Inventor - Dr. Bertelsen 11-29-60, Demonstrates Aeromobile. SOF & Sil. Neg. Trims | url=https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/12673 }}</ref>
==In popular culture== {{Multiple issues| {{In popular culture|date=February 2026}} {{Prose|section|date=February 2026}} }} ===In comics=== * ''Dragon Ball'' * ''The Trigan Empire''
===In film and television=== * ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius'' * ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' *''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' * ''Altered Carbon'' * ''Back to the Future Part II'' * ''Batman Beyond'' (including the Batmobile) * ''Blade Runner'' (as spinners) *''The Fantastic Four: First Steps'' * ''The Fifth Element'' * ''Futurama'' * ''Grand Theft Auto Online'' * ''Hello Tomorrow!'' * ''I, Robot'' * ''The Jetsons'' * ''Immortal'' (unique type of hovercar, which is powered by overhead wires) * ''Lilo & Stitch'' * ''Minority Report'' * ''Space Precinct'' (as hoppers) * ''Phineas and Ferb'' * ''Robot Jox'' * ''Stand by Me Doraemon'' * ''Star Trek'' (as desert flyers and skimmers; the first being Vulcan hovercars) * ''Star Wars'' (as airflow cars, grav-cars, hauler cars, hover cars, landspeeders, and trundle cars) * ''Supercar'' * ''Tomorrowland'' * ''Total Recall''
===In literature=== * ''Hover Car Racer''
===In video games=== * ''Hover Ace''<ref>''[https://www.mobygames.com/game/hover-ace MobyGames page, video game database]''</ref><ref>''[https://www.gsc-game.com/english/hoverace/index.php Official website, unmaintained]''</ref> * ''Aircar''<ref>''[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1073390/Aircar/ Aircar on Steam]''</ref> * ''AirCars'' * ''Beam Breakers'' * ''BHunter''<ref>''[https://collectionchamber.blogspot.com/p/bhunter.html The Collection Chamber]'', game collector's blog</ref> * ''Blade Runner'' (as spinners) * ''Cloudpunk'' (as HOVAs) * ''Does Not Commute'' * ''F-Zero'' * ''Fallout'' * ''Hover!'' * ''Jak II'' * ''Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals'' * ''NYR: New York Race'' (containing hovercars from ''The Fifth Element'') * ''Overwatch'' * ''Quarantine'' and its sequel ''Quarantine II: Road Warrior'' * ''Redout'' * ''ReVOLUTION''<ref>''[https://www.mobygames.com/game/revolution MobyGames page, video game database]''</ref> * ''Rock n' Roll Racing'' * ''Saints Row IV'' * ''Space Quest I'' * ''Teraburst'' * ''Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri'' * ''TimeSplitters'' * ''Tunnel B1'' * ''Wipeout''
==See also== ===Similar concepts=== * Aero-X * Flying car * Flying platform * Ground-effect vehicle * Personal air vehicle * Power trowel * Maglev
===Hover vehicles=== * Hoverbike * Hoverboard * Hovercraft * Hovertrain
==References== {{Reflist}}
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