American company Alef Aeronautics has now been granted permission by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test the flying car they presented last year. The electric-powered air and ground vehicle is called “Model A.” It is designed to both fly and be driven as a traditional car, albeit at a slow speed, on public roads.
Alef classifies their “Model A” as a slow-speed vehicle when driven on the road, which means the maximum speed will be around 40 km/h (25 mph). The company states that if you want to go faster, you should fly the car instead. The vehicle is said to have a ground range of around 320 km (200 miles) and an air range of approximately 180 km (110 miles). There is currently no information available about the flying speed of Model A.
Alef Aeronautics has not yet revealed how Model A looks when flying. However, in the video clip below, you can see the company’s vision for it. To test Model A on public roads, Alef still needs permission from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which they currently lack.
Pre-orders for a flying car from Alef Aeronautics are already available. The price is around $300,000, and the company plans to start delivering the flying cars as early as 2025, which seems very optimistic considering their current stage in the development and approval process.
