It's the eternal dream for auto enthusiasts (well, some of 'em, anyway): the flying car. To showcase their first generation Skycar (shown after the jump), the company's Skycar Expedition Team is planning a January 2009 drive-and-flight from London to Timbuktu, which is a distance of over 3700 miles, AutoblogGreen reports. If it works, we could very well see the second generation model (above) for 2010.

Converting the first generation Skycar between road use and flying mode takes about three minutes. "The car uses a lightweight ParaWing that is filled by a huge fan built into the back of the vehicle to achieve theoretical airspeeds of 100 mph," the article said. "Two people can fit into the steel or aluminum chassis and cruise along at 2,000-3,000 feet." The Skycar burns ethanol in its 140 hp engine and is already certified for road use. For more information on the car and the trip, check out the company link. Here's hoping they pull it off.