Stuck in gridlock? Not for long. Alef Aeronautics just made the daily commute a whole lot more interesting with its £235,000 flying car.
This isn’t sci-fi. It’s real, and it just took flight over a public street in California. The Alef Model A looks like any other car—until the propellers hidden in its frame fire up and it lifts off the ground.
A newly released video shows the car rolling forward, stopping, then effortlessly ascending into the air. It smoothly clears another vehicle before touching back down like nothing happened. No runway. No drama. Just vertical takeoff on demand.
Alef’s CEO, Jim Dukhovny, called it a major moment, comparing it to the Wright Brothers’ first flight. Big words, but when a car can actually take off and fly over traffic, it’s hard to argue.
Previous attempts at flying cars either needed runways or were glorified drones. This is different. It drives like an actual car, then lifts off when needed, making it the first true flying automobile.
The test model was a lightweight prototype, but the production version—the Model A—will be a two-seater with a 200-mile road range and 110 miles in the air. That’s enough to go from Los Angeles to Las Vegas without ever touching a freeway.
Built from carbon fiber, it measures about 17 feet long and 7 feet wide, fitting in standard parking spaces. On the ground, four wheel-mounted electric motors handle the driving. When it’s time to fly, eight independent propellers kick in, giving full control in any direction.
This is serious innovation, not some pipe dream. The technology is here, and it works. The only real question now: When do the rest of us get one?
Five Fast Facts
- Alef Aeronautics was founded in 2015 with the goal of creating a practical flying car.
- The Model A’s design was inspired by the way insects rotate their bodies mid-air.
- Vertical takeoff technology was first pioneered for military aircraft like the Harrier Jump Jet.
- The prototype was tested on a closed public street, making it the first of its kind to do so.
- Early versions of flying cars date back to the 1940s, but none were road-legal and air-capable like this one.
