Are you tired of getting stuck in traffic? You’ll soon be able to fly over them in a £235,000 electric car.
Unlike most of its rivals, the Alef Aeronautics Model A can be driven like a normal car on the streets.
But it is also equipped with propellers on the hood and trunk that allow it to take off at any time to skip the line.
The lightweight two-seater, which is expected to be in production in 2025, has a road range of 200 miles and a flight range of 110 miles.
Chief executive Jim Dukhovny said he wanted to bring science fiction to life and build an “affordable” flying car, the cost of which would probably be closer to £25,000 when built to scale.
Are you tired of getting stuck in traffic? You’ll soon be able to fly over them in a £235,000 electric car.
Unlike most of its rivals, the Alef Aeronautics Model A can be driven like a normal car on the streets.
The carbon fiber frame, which measures about 17 feet long and 7 feet wide, is designed to fit into any parking space or garage.
To travel on the road, the car uses four small motors in each of the wheels and will drive similarly to a normal electric car.
This leaves room at the front and rear for eight propellers, which spin independently at different speeds to allow you to fly in any direction.
It uses a technology called distributed electric propulsion, with a mesh cover over the rotor blades that allows air flow through the vehicle.
Its cruising speed in the air is 110 mph, while on the road it will be limited to between 25 and 35 mph despite being able to go much faster.
This is so the vehicle, which weighs 850 pounds, can be classified as an ultralight ‘low-speed vehicle’, a legal classification reserved for small electric vehicles like golf carts, to comply with regulations.
To travel on the road, the car uses four small motors in each of the wheels and will drive similarly to a normal electric car.
The car uses a technology called distributed electric propulsion, with a mesh cover over the rotor blades allowing airflow through the vehicle.
Dukhovny said the car, which is aimed at the general public, is relatively easy to use and would take just 15 minutes to learn.
The in-air controls are similar to those used to fly a consumer drone.
The Model A is different from most so-called flying cars being designed today because it actually works like a car, he said, while others on the market tend to be eVTOLS, which are essentially electric helicopters that can only fly.
Alef’s founders began working on the concept in 2015, coincidentally the same date Marty McFly returned to the future in the second installment of the Hollywood trilogy.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Dukhovny said: “If everything goes well, if we have enough funding and if the regulations remain the same, we should be able to start production by the end of 2025.”
The Model A is different from most so-called flying cars being designed today because it actually works like a car, he said, while others on the market tend to be eVTOLS, which are essentially electric helicopters that can only fly.
The Model A is currently on pre-sale for £235,000 – around the same as the top Rolls Royces, Bentleys and Aston Martins – but the company aims to sell them much cheaper in the future.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Dukhovny said: “If everything goes well, if we have enough funding and if the regulations remain the same, we should be able to start production by the end of 2025.”
He added: ‘For flying cars to become mainstream, they have to be affordable.
“The fundamental technology behind the Model A is simpler than that of a Toyota Corolla or a Ford Focus, so if we are able to build high volumes and optimize manufacturing, there is no reason for it to cost more than £25,000.”
The main backer of Alef Aeronautics is billionaire investor Tim Draper, who also financed Tesla.