Aircraft

AeroMobil Flying Car now available for pre-order

AeroMobil Flying Car now available for pre-order
The AeroMobil Flying Car will require a pilot's license
The AeroMobil Flying Car will require a pilot's license
View 5 Images
The AeroMobil Flying Car's doors open upward, so you know it's expensive
1/5
The AeroMobil Flying Car's doors open upward, so you know it's expensive
The AeroMobil Flying Car's conversion process takes less than three minutes and looks very cool
2/5
The AeroMobil Flying Car's conversion process takes less than three minutes and looks very cool
The AeroMobil Flying Car hascruise speed of 259 km/h in the air, and a max speed of 160 km/h on the ground
3/5
The AeroMobil Flying Car hascruise speed of 259 km/h in the air, and a max speed of 160 km/h on the ground
The AeroMobil Flying Car will require a pilot's license
4/5
The AeroMobil Flying Car will require a pilot's license
AeroMobil Flying Car: on sale now with a first run of 500 cars starting delivery in 2020
5/5
AeroMobil Flying Car: on sale now with a first run of 500 cars starting delivery in 2020
View gallery - 5 images

At Top Marques Monaco this week, the Prince of Monaco pulled the covers off a flying car that is set to enter garages – or hangars – from 2020. Slovakia-based AeroMobil displayed what it claims is the production model of its Flying Car, and started taking pre-orders for an initial 500-unit run ahead of anticipated full production.

With the curves and presence of a supercar, the AeroMobil should fit in a large car parking space. You can drive it at up to 160 km/h (99 mph) on the road, then pull in to an airport and convert it to a plane at the touch of a button.

The AeroMobil Flying Car's doors open upward, so you know it's expensive
The AeroMobil Flying Car's doors open upward, so you know it's expensive

The conversion process takes less than three minutes, during which the wings fold out, the driven front wheels tuck themselves into the chassis, and a variable pitch pusher prop folds out at the rear. Some 300-odd horsepower from a custom 2.0-liter turbo engine is switched between the front wheels and the pusher prop through a bespoke transmission.

AeroMobil rates the machine as having a 700-km (435-mi) range on the ground, or about a 750 km (466-mi) cruise range when airborne, on a 90-liter (23.8 gal) tank of 95 RON fuel. Airborne cruise speed is rated at 259 km/h (161 mph), and it'll safely carry a maximum load of 240 kg (529 lb), enough for two average adults and luggage.

AeroMobil Flying Car: on sale now with a first run of 500 cars starting delivery in 2020
AeroMobil Flying Car: on sale now with a first run of 500 cars starting delivery in 2020

This is not the machine that'll take the average chump's commute into the third dimension. Apart from the eye-watering price tag, it's every bit an airplane, so you'll need a pilot's license and a bunch of hours under your belt to fly it.

Our expectation is that most people's first exposure to vertical commuting will come in the form of an autonomous VTOL multirotor with cruise capability – something along the lines of what Uber describes in its Elevate whitepaper, like the machines Aurora Flight Sciences, Joby Aviation and Zee.Aero are building.

But this machine looks like a nicely executed high-end medium-distance roadable aircraft that could definitely find a place in the lives of wealthy long-distance commuters with access to local airstrips. And we would certainly not be surprised to learn there's enough of those out there to buy the first 500-unit production run, despite the vehicle's €1.2 to 1.5 million (US$1.3 to $1.6 million) price tag.

Check out an animation of the flight conversion process on the AeroMobil Flying Car in the video below, which looks even cooler than the upward-opening doors.

Source: AeroMobil

View gallery - 5 images
7 comments
7 comments
jayel
Parking any type of flying vehicle in a supermarket car park turns any innocent trolley scrape or bumper graze into life-threatening airframe damage. There is also an old adage among yachtsmen - anything built to transform between two functions rarely does both or either well.
Buellrider
Should have made it look like a flying saucer since it too would have as much a possibility of actually coming to market. A fool and his money are soon parted.
MerlinGuy
First, it is only a flying car if it is street legal. I don't think this is since it doesn't even have mirrors. Plus there is the whole impact rating, fuel economy. Just a small plane with foldable wings that can taxi fast.
Tom Lee Mullins
I think it would be neat seeing this flying overhead or driving on the road. Since it is not cheap, it would be a rare site.
Like the Terrafugia, it might be good on the road to the owners home and not really intended as a daily driver. Since you could drive it home, it does not require a trailer, hangar space or storage fees at the airport.
Douglas Bennett Rogers
This would be good for going between small towns about a thousand miles apart. There is no good way of doing this now.
JimFox
' about a 750 km (466-mi) cruise range when airborne'
Douglas Bennett RogersApril 28th, 2017 This would be good for going between small towns about a thousand miles apart.
With TWO refueling stops?
bullfrog84
Does Leno have one yet?