The mention of a flying car, we imagine it to be a vehicle that looks like a regular car but can take to the skies anywhere, anytime. You know, kind of like the flying DeLorean Time Machine or Matt Trakker’s Thunderhawk from M.A.S.K.
In reality, the closest we get today to that vision is, well, Klein Vision. Klein Vision kind of looked like a regular car but still need to take off and land at a licensed airfield. However, if Alef Aeronautics (formerly Armada) has its way, we will not only see a car that flies and will not look like an aircraft rolling on asphalt. Also, it will be a flying car money can buy.
The ambitious flying car maker has recently been given a special airworthiness certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). What this means is that it can now test the car on the road and in the air. And yes. It looks like a regular car and a very sleek one at that.
The Alef flying car can skip a jam and take to the skies anywhere. No runway is needed. It is a low-speed vehicle that does up to 200 miles (322 km) on public motorways, fits into a typical garage, and yet, can launch vertically into the air. As an aircraft, it has around 110 miles (177 km) of range.
For short distances, such as to get around – or in this case, over – a problematic area such as a fallen tree, the car can literally launch upwards and fly a short distance clearing said area and continuing the journey on wheels.
It can go higher and farther. In such a scenario, the car’s body will till forward to a vertical position. The cabin will remain parallel to the ground – thanks to a unique gimbaled rotating cabin design. The cabin will offer the occupants a “cinematic 180-plus-degree view.”
The vehicle has a mesh car body that has eight rotors under it for vertical takeoff and horizontal propulsion. While in-wheel motors on each wheel provide the car with regular on-the-ground mobility.
The company is already accepting pre-orders for US$299,999 Alef Electric Flying Car. You can learn more in an unveiling video embedded below.
Images: Alef Aeronautics.
via Fox Business.
