Finally!

They promised us all flying cars years ago. At last, someone is making them. (There have been attempts over the years, to be fair). Now a company in Massachusetts is working on bringing the real thing to market.

Ever find yourself wishing you could just jump in the car and take off somewhere really interesting?

Well soon you will be able to do just that – quite literally.

Engineers have developed a car that makes an ideal runaround for town, but when you tire of the congested roads, just press a button and your vehicle will transform into a plane with a 27ft wingspan capable of 120mph.

This astonishing hybrid vehicle – called the Transition – is already on sale in America, with the first due to be delivered to the owners in two years.

It is powered by a 100-horsepower engine which turns either the wheels or a rear-mounted propeller and, when not in use, its wings fold in half and tuck in alongside the cockpit.

The £75,600 vehicle has been developed by graduates from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who have formed a company called Terrafugia – 'escape from the Earth' in Latin – to market it.

There's also these guys trying to bring one out. Terrafugia's website is here. All this is meaningless, of course. The Australians have been holding out on us for years.