Ford Levacar model from 1961

Over at Make: Online Gareth Branwyn writes about the latest issue of Model Cars Magazine.

I've never been a "car guy," but it was really fun to go through the issue (from January 2010) and see what the car model kit industry and hobby are up to these days. As in other areas of modeling, specialty kits are big, vintage kit comebacks, impressive scratch building, and stunning levels of finishing and detailing of kits, are all in evidence.
In this issue, one of the articles I got the biggest kick out of was on the AMT Ford Levacar kit, a promo kit version of the late 1950s Ford concept car that was straight out of The Jetsons. The Levacar kit even levitated! It had plastic tubes that you blew into to raise the car. The model, packaging, everything is to die for. Here's the page about the Levacar kit from Fantastic Plastic.

Model Cars Magazine

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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wetwarefault

My F-150 levitates if I cross the railroad tracks at high speed.
braininavat

Looks like a flying hoodie to me!
wgmleslie

Ok, who else first saw the title as Lava Car?
Chupacabara

And when this model eventually went into production, it was re-named as the Ford “Pinto”.

Levitation was achieved by hitting the rear bumper “just so…”
- Felton / Moderator
  
  Heehee!
  - Chupacabara
    
    Great Link!
Stefan Jones

The re-release I’m really looking forward to:

MPC Pilgrim Observer

Slightly less retro than the Levacar, and more feasible a vehicle.
sardonicus

The future was much brighter before I was born…
oasisob1

It actually never went into production because no driver had the lung capacity to keep it airborne for any trip further than the corner market.