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(16/01/2009)

A biofuelled car that can fly has begun its maiden journey from Britain to Africa.

The Parajet Skycar is a two-seater that transforms from a road-legal four-wheel vehicle into a light aircraft.

It has a stated airspeed of just under 70mph, and cruises at an altitude of 2,000-3,000ft.

Its makers claim that it can convert from road- to air-mode in just three minutes, and take off from a field or runway of 200 metres length.

The expedition team, which includes a large selection of all-terrain support vehicles, set off from London on Wednesday. The team's planned route takes them through France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania, finishing in Timbuktu in Mali on 20 February.

And while it's perhaps not a design that James Bond would have chosen - it's been described as a dune buggy with a paragliding sail - the skycar's pilots hope to travel through West African villages in style.

"I just can't wait to see their faces when we fly in and start playing football with them," said group leader Neil Laughton, quoted prior to the journey.

"I don't think they will be able to believe somebody in a flying car has just visited them.