Crazy Planes That Car Makers Built

It's safe to say that there aren't many people around who remember Ford's foray into flying with its cute and deadly little Flivver, but all of us know about Ford's successful airliner, the Ford Tri-Motor. And during World War II, car manufacturers around the globe put their factories to use building aircraft. Lots of them and in huge numbers. From Rolls-Royce (aero engines), to Saab (airliners and jet fighters), to Mitsubishi (light twins and commuter jets) and beyond, it's an impressive list. And there are actually a few success stories, though many of those are limited successes, and/or, as in the case of the Mitsubishi MU-2, a problematic one.

Those of you who've been around aviation long enough might remember that this isn't the first time (nor the second) that Toyota is interested in GA engine production with an automotive-inspired aero engine, a 32-valve, quadruple-cam, FADEC-controlled V-8. The engine, the FV2400-2TC, earned FAA production certification, though it never did enter production. Toyota was exploring the idea of building an aircraft, which in retrospect was very much like the Cirrus SR22. It's hard to say how serious the project was, or if it was just a science experiment, the kind a company with a lot of money occasionally throws some aviation project. Often they're not seriously intending on competing with existing designs or even completing a production aircraft. After all, it's hard to argue that Toyota couldn't have succeeded at its attempt to become a GA plane maker. This is why the question of whether it's really serious about eVTOL aircraft is a reasonable one. It might just be a giant corporation's idea of fun and games. 

Check out our gallery below for a list of automakers who tried their hands at building planes.

Car makers are not immune to the desire to diversify into another transportation sector. Sometimes these decisions were done out of the spirit of experimentation. Other times, companies were pressed into service as part of a larger war effort. Here are a few noteworthy examples, and please note that the individual histories are in some cases complex and involve cross-multiple companies cooperating or, in other cases, car companies building planes under license.

Speaking of pretty planes, this world-class maker of automobile tires also built the gull-wing Corsair carrier fighter during World War II, along with some more rotund lighter-than-air ships, as well.

The makers of the coolest scooters in the world, not to mention urban scooter cabs like this, made some pretty slick planes, too. Its most recent, the P.180 Avanti, is a super-fast twin-turboprop canard pusher, which has recently been sidelined and put up for sale.

The British car maker, which specialized in luxury cars like this Siddeley Coupe, went on to build jets, too, including the first operational vertical takeoff jet, the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier.

The Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop twin has had a complicated past, true, what with an FAA investigation into its checkered safety record, but its fans are fanatical about the speed and economy of the plane. Of course, the historical Mitsubishi built the best known Japanese fighter of World War II, the Zero.

The HondaJet was Plane & Pilot's inaugural Plane of the Year a few years ago. With best in class speed and a user-friendly flight deck, high marks to Honda for this light jet beauty. The company also builds cars, including this NSX, which would fit very nicely into the corner of an airplane hangar, we're thinking.

The best airliner in the world before the Douglas DC-3 took over, the Ford Tri-Motor, was built Ford Tough. Another foray into aviation wasn't as successful. The Flivver was a single-seat "everyman's plane," and first flew in the late 1920s. Charles Lindbergh flew and called it "the worst aircraft" he ever flew. Soon after the Flivver disaster, Ford stopped producing it and other light planes, too. It's plane building, however, didn't stop there. The company built thousands of B-24 bombers during WWII. Oh, yeah, the company has built a few cars, too, including this gorgeous Super Deluxe, which it built throughout the '40s.

The company famous for its boxy little runabouts built some of the world's prettiest aircraft, ever, including some biplane fighters that bridged the pre-war and WWII era.

The maker of some of the most elegant auto designs ever built a plane that's remarkably beautiful in its own right, the Model 100. The racer, which didn't fly until a reproduction took to the air in the 2010s. The only example was destroyed in a fatal crash in 2016. An example is on display at the EAA Air Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The company that would go on to become Gulfstream and build some of the world's fastest and most beautiful business jets also built some of the most important fighters of WWII, along with numerous other military designs, several of them supersonic. They also built a gaggle of these postal vehicles, which we're guessing, despite their lack of natural beauty and speed, could handle sleet and dark of night with aplomb.

What do we consider the eight most iconic aircraft? Find out if your choice is on our list HERE.