Following the end of World War II, the United States military invested a great deal of money in the development of new hardware offering tactical advantages on future battlefields. One of the concepts which the Army Transportation Research Command evaluated was the 1960 Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air Car. This 21-foot-long, 8-foot-wide, 5-foot-tall contraption was everything that Luke Skywalker's landspeeder would promise 17 years later—stylish driving without the burden of wheels.

Curtiss-Wright was and remains an aerospace and defense supplier with experience in aircraft development. Following the war, the military had a keen interest in improving amphibious landing and transport craft. The Air Car was developed with that need in mind. Since the United States hadn't quite perfected repulsorlift technology yet, Curtiss-Wright had to go in a different direction, creating what was termed a 'Ground Effects Machine' (GEM), which we now know as a hovercraft.

Twin 180-hp Lycoming aircraft engines were mounted fore and aft in the Air Car's tube-frame chassis and powered two enormous, vertical ducted fans. At full power, the Air Car rode on a 15-inch cushion of air and could lift a 1000-lb payload.

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For reasons likely tied to a 1956 financial tie-up between Curtiss-Wright and the floundering Studebaker-Packard, an enormous, blocky body was fashioned after the automotive styling of the day, complete with twin headlights, turn signals, fenders, and bumpers. The tidy four-abreast cabin in the middle was fitted with a convertible top, an automotive-style dashboard, and a steering wheel.

The wheel, combined with a boat-like hand throttle, controlled four banks of variable louvers at each corner of the body, which siphoned off fan air and used it for forward propulsion, steering, and braking. At 2770 lbs, the whole construction was lightweight by 1960s standards, and the Air Car was capable of speeds of up to 38 mph over land or water (and really, 38 mph over the water in this thing had to be terrifying).

In 1960, the Army Transportation Research Command purchased two of the cars for engineering evaluation, but after months of testing, they were deemed unsatisfactory for field use. They worked great on flat, unobstructed land and water but had problems when the terrain became even slightly rocky or hilly.

Following the failure to secure a military contract, Curtiss-Wright attempted to salvage the project by modifying the designs for civilian use. A smaller and rather stylish concept called the 'Bee' was drawn up, but the designs and plans went nowhere and the Air Car died before reaching production.

Believe it or not, at least one of these beasts still survives. The US Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, Virginia, keeps one of the evaluation units in their collection. If you'd like to imagine yourself bulls-eying womp rats in one of the only hover cars ever built, go forth and visit.

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