I wasn't sure whether to put this in Vintage Cars or AvChat! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200280604815
It's as rare as they come and apparently fully functional (death trap). I expect to see it in Scottsdale in January.
Seems lik it would be a fun thing to have but @3.5M nooooo way. I wonder what it would go for if this were a true auction.
I got curious and found the remaining Aerocar registrations. It appears there were 6 built (that are still registered/known). 4 Model-I's, 1 Model-II and 1 Model-III. Model I ------- S/N-1 is at the EAA museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin S/N-2 is this one in Grand Junction, Colorado S/N-3 is in Jackson, Wyoming S/N-4 is also in Colorado Springs, Colorado Model II -------- is listed as not suitable for operation and no info is shown Model III -------- S/N-1 is at the Museum of Flight in Seattle WA With 4 existing examples of a footnote in aviation history, it seems like $3.5M is way, way out there. Edit: could have saved myself some trouble, Wikipedia has the same info and more detail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerocar Image Unavailable, Please Login
i'm watching Speed Channel's "101 Cars You Must Drive"... they are featuring the Taylor Aero Car. 5 were built.. but only 1 is capable of flying today.
There was another similar one (circa 1949) called the AeroPhibian or some such...I think the inventor managed to get two made on his own funding and actually flew one of them at least 100K miles around the country (some say 200K!) trying to drum up investment money. And then there was that thing that combined the whole body of a Ford Pinto with the wings, rear engine, and tail of a Cessna Skymaster. The flying parts separated from the driving parts on a test takeoff, ending the project. $3.5M? In these times? I don't know - but then somebody is supposed to have paid that for one of those GM Futurebusses, and also the Oldsmobile Corvette-like dream car. You never can tell.
I looked at the Barrett-Jackson website last night. They supposedly have stopped accepting consignments for Scottsdale. The AeroCar wasn't listed (I'm surprised). The lineup did not impress me much. They are selling a Ford Tri-Motor though.
An ex co-worker and friend of mine, Jake Schultz, wrote book about Molt Taylor and the Aerocar , entitled " A Drive In the Clouds" if you would like to read some interesting history and background on the project. At best it was a poor airplane and dangerous car. Very light and smashable for a road vehicle and a lousy performing airplane if you were going on a serious x-country of more than a few hundred miles. Ding the car part in traffic and you can't fly home. Get the airplane part dinged while your out dinging the car part and you have an undrivable unflyable dinged up something to look at....for 3.5 million.
