US-based Alef Aeronautics recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for testing its fully-electric “Model A” flying car.
The company has opened pre-orders for the e-VTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle from a starting price of $150 – which works out to approximately R2,793 at current exchange rates.
The full price of the Alef is expected to be $299,999 (R5,590,000) by the time it reaches the market, which the company said will be in 2025.
By the 2030s, it wants to make flying electric vehicles (EVs) more accessible for the majority of motorists by producing a $35,000 (R652,000) model, it said.
What you need to know about the Alef Model A
Alef claims the Model A is the first “true flying car” on the market as it boasts the ability to drive on the road like a normal vehicle, fit in normal lanes and parking spots, adhere to all traffic regulations, and of course, fly.
Currently still in prototype phase, the EV’s body consists of a circular passenger compartment inside a frame that houses eight rotors.
The top of the frame is mesh to protect the passengers from the rotor blades while still allowing air to pass through, while the bottom is non-existent except for structural components.
This design is more optimal than most other e-VTOLs as it forgoes the need for large wings that are either unsightly fixed protrusions or complicated pieces of metal origami that are heavy and prone to breaking.
It also has four more traditional car wheels around the perimeter for when soaring through the sky won’t do the trick.
The inside of the Alef has seating for two in one-piece hardshell chairs and a “cinematic 180-degree-plus view for safe and enjoyable flight,” said its makers.
Described as a “Low-Speed Vehicle” (LSV), the flying EV can only go up to 40km/h on the road which presents legal limitations in certain countries, however, “the assumption is that, if a driver needs a faster route, a driver will use Alef’s flight capabilities,” said the company.
This is where things get interesting.
The Model A can reportedly take off in the air vertically, go forward, backward, right, left, up, down, or any angle the driver pleases while the passenger cell swivels within the frame to keep looking straight ahead.
Most of Alef’s direct rivals don’t have this ability as they tend to use fixed cabins that complicate visibility.
Alef has unfortunately not revealed how far its creation will fly or drive, nor what exactly will power it. It confirmed the vehicle is fully electric, and that it has plans to introduce a model with hydrogen drive down the line at a higher price and with more range both on the tar and in the air.
The Model A still has several hoops to jump through before it will ever be registered as a legal vehicle, though.
It will need approval from the relevant road and aviation authorities in all the markets in which it plans to operate, and it also caters to a niche crowd – ultra-wealthy individuals with both pilots and driver’s licences – which are relatively few and far in between.
There are also more than 600 companies currently attempting to produce their own flying cars, electric or otherwise, all claiming they have the ideal solution to a problem that hasn’t been fully solved, Forbes reports.
Alef is one of the front runners in this endeavour, but it still has a mammoth task ahead as it has only done a handful of test flights since starting work on the Model A in 2015 and it only has around two years left to meet its self-imposed deadline of having a flying EV ready for the public.
Keyword: Flying cars are here – and you can pre-order one for R2,793