The Alef Model A, created by Alef Aeronautics in San Mateo, California, is a fully electric vehicle with a mesh-covered body that conceals eight propellers and is a flying car!
The model has propellers instead of traditional car motors. This makes the car able to run without a runway.
Once in the air, it tilts 90 degrees so that the top of the car is facing forward. It then flies at up to 260 miles per hour.
A passenger ‘bubble’ in the center of the car holds up to two people and pivots on an axis so the passengers can face forward for the flight.
Jim Dukhovny, the founder of Alef Aeronautics, said the car would cost $300,000 (£265,000), and that production and initial deliveries could start in 2025.
The car has a driving range of 200 miles (322 km) and a flight range of 100 miles (160km).
Dukhovny described Alef Model A as ‘the world’s first real flying car.’
‘A flying car has to be a car, which means it can drive on a regular street and park in a regular parking space. And it also should have vertical take-off,’ he told the BBC.
‘If you require an airport to take off, what problem are you solving? And why is this a flying car?’
However, the car could only take off in ‘whitelisted’ areas, suggesting it must work closely with traffic and air authorities to get permission to fly.
The car has an interior of a racing car and has butterfly doors.
It is also able to fly sideways as the mesh-covered body allows the air to pass through, keeping it light and allowing it to stay airborne without any safety concerns, the firm claims.
Dukhovny is a computer scientist, software designer, and science-fiction buff who just built his first car. It will release in 2030.
This proposed Model Z sedan will have a flight range of 200 miles and a driving range of 400 miles – and a projected price tag of $35,000 (£31,000).
‘This is not more complicated than a Toyota Corolla,’ Dukhovny said. ‘Our goal is to make sure it has the same price point.’
Several flying car designs and scaled-down prototypes have already been unveiled. However, none of them have been launched in the market yet.
Earlier this year, Hyundai revealed its butterfly-inspired flying car concept at the Farnborough International Airshow, with plant-based leather seats, overhead ‘light therapy, and built-in charging stations.
Another London startup called Bellwether Industries completed a test flight of its half-scale ‘hypercar’ prototype last November.
