Flying car by California startup Alef with 177 km flying range revealed, expected launch in 2025

Alef Aeronautics, a firm based in the United States, has shown a prototype of its $300,000 (approximately 2.5 crore) flying automobile. The car's body can rotate 90 degrees to become the wings during flight, and the top is perforated with mesh to increase airflow.

Since 2015, Alef Aeronautics has been developing flying automobiles. Reportedly, its initial team consists of engineers and technologists with a combined 70+ years of expertise.

Both the eVTOL Model A and the Alef Zero will resemble high-tech helicopters, but in the air they will seem more like sleek sports cars.

The ultimate objective of Alef Aeronautics is to create a system of airborne roadways that can be used by flying automobiles. The way Doc and Marty did in Back to the Future Part II, when hovering over Hill Valley.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the business expects to ship out its first production run of flying cars, which they say will be the only ones able to drive on roadways and take off vertically.

Following exhaustive research and computer simulations, a prototype model will be created in the following three years.

It is estimated by Alef that the final vehicle will have a range of 177 kilometres while flying and 31 kilometres when driving. The 19th of October reportedly marked the beginning of the automobiles' pre-sale.

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"The next big step was proving the efficient forward flight, in order for this flying car to become not a toy, but an everyday commute vehicle. After this was accomplished, a big round of investment sent the company on a full-time focused journey," said Alef.

“In 2019, after four years of R&D, a full-size prototype was flown. Shortly after that, the vehicle was converted for autonomous flight for the safe continuation of testing. Development continued and the first semi-public demo of a real full-size flying car was shown to a group of investors. It consisted of driving, vertical takeoff, and a small forward motion,” the company further added.