The first prototype of the eight propeller flying car Alef unveiled
The street-legal eVTOL costs only $300k.
A California-based sustainable electric transportation company unveiled the prototype of a flying car, according to a company release.
The Alef “Model A,” the only flying automobile with street-legal driving and vertical takeoff abilities, is presented by Alef Aeronautics, a cutting-edge technology company developing alternative transportation solutions for soaring traffic patterns.
Alef uses innovative technology to elevate the vehicle securely above regular traffic, enabling quicker, simpler travel, and reducing the load of urban congestion.
Using eight propellers housed inside a body roughly the size of a big automobile, the battery-powered device will launch vertically if used as intended. The vehicle’s mesh-topped body houses one or two people inside bubble-like compartments, but most of the space is empty.
According to engineering director and co-founder, Constantine Kisly, the initial Alef Model A should have a payload of roughly 200 pounds (90.7kg), including the passenger and luggage.
The Alef Model’s top surface, an open mesh, allows air to move through the flying car. Four propellers are housed in the hull on one side of the passenger bubble and four on the other.
What happens next is more unique but crucial to the aircraft’s design, having only been tested on tiny prototypes. The body rotates 90 degrees around its long axis to change from upward to forward flight. When the car spins, the higher wing is on one side of the body, and the lower wing is on the other.
The Alef Model A flying automobile is compatible with a city’s existing parking and transportation systems and only requires a simple drone license. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company intends to start production and make its first deliveries.
The Alef flying automobile is up for pre-sale for $300K with a $150 ordinary queue or $1,500 priority queue deposit on the company website.
The Alef “Model A” flying car’s driving range of 200 miles (320 km) and flight range is 110 miles (177 km).
The vehicle has an elevon stabilization system, distributed electric propulsion, advanced software flight stabilization, a safety system, no exposed propellers, and an all-wheel drive. Other important safety features include obstacle recognition and avoidance, real-time thousand-point diagnostics, pre-flight refuse start diagnostics, triple to octuple redundancy of all major components, and more.
Alef has been test-driving and test-flying its full-size prototype since 2019.
Alef’s CEO, Jim Dukhovny, says, “The Alef Model is a modern solution for both urban and rural transportation needs in the 21st century because it is the fastest and most convenient transport ever created from the point of origin to the final destination. By enabling consumers to choose driving or flying mode, the Alef flying car allows the optimal path depending on road conditions, weather, and infrastructure.”
Alef is also working toward the four-person vehicle, Alef “Model Z,” expected for release in 2035 and priced at $35K. Additional versions of the flying car are in development. Model Z will have a driving range of at least 220 miles (352 km) and a flying range of at least 300 miles (480 km).
Dreaming about this flying car is fantastic, but its price tag might scare aviation enthusiasts.
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