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That’s one way to avoid congestion pricing.
U.S. automaker Alef Aeronautics proved that the sky’s not the limit for vehicles after releasing the first-ever footage of a flying car like something out of a science-fiction movie.
The groundbreaking fly run starts off typically enough with the black test vehicle — which is 100% electric — driving along a road in California. Then, all of a sudden, it lifts off vertically and soars over another car like a less futuristic scene from the film “Back To The Future II.”
Flight is facilitated through a system called distributed electric propulsion, with a mesh layer covering propeller blades to allow air to flow through the vehicle, according to the Daily Mail.
“This is the first publicly released video of a car driving and taking off vertically,” declared company CEO Jim Dukhovny in a recent press release. He compared the automotive milestone to the Wright Brothers’ revolutionary Kitty Hawk video from 1903, Electrek reported.
Alef representatives assured viewers that the maiden flight took place on a closed-off road so that no people were in peril on or near the flight path.
While previous videos exist of cars using a runway to take off or soaring while tethered, this was the first footage of a roadster both driving and achieving straight-up liftoff, per the release.
“This drive and flight test represents an important proof of technology in a real-world city environment,” said Dukhovny, who said the trial proved to “humanity that new transportation is possible.”
The prototype in the clip was a special, ultralight version of the Alef Model Zero. For the commercial version, the firm will use a two-seater Alef Model A flying car that will have a flying range of 110 miles and a driving range of 200 miles — and is expected to have autopiloting flight capabilities as well, DesignBoom reported.
The product, which has reportedly been in the works since 2015, also boasts space for eight different rotors that can spin independently at varying speeds, allowing it to soar in different directions.
As for terrestrial capabilities, there are four small engines in each of the wheels that will allow the miracle whip to move like a normal electric car. It can also park similarly to a normal vehicle.
The Model A will have the distinction of functioning as an actual street-worthy vehicle. That places it in a separate league from the eVTOLS envisioned by Honda, Hyundai, BMW and other companies, which have been compared to glorified helicopters because they’re only capable of flight.
The one downside is that the road capabilities aren’t exactly ready for Germany’s famed, high-speed Autobahn highway system — the vehicle’s top velocity is just a suburban neighborhood-friendly 25 m.p.h.
Other doohickies include an obstacle detection and avoidance system, glide landing and a ballistic parachute.
Prices for the Model A are expected to start at around $300,000, while customers can pre-order their flying car on Alef’s website for as low as a $150 deposit.
To date, the electric flying car has secured 3,300 pre-orders.
This isn’t the only way the automotive firm is reinventing the fly-wheel.
By 2035, Alef hopes to unveil an updated version called the Alef Model Z, which will be a four-person drivable flying sedan that can fly a maximum of 200 miles with a driving range of 400 miles.