The flying car, for now a prototype, takes off as a stop, lifts up and flies at low altitude above the city. The Alef Model A is electric, has an autonomy of 180 km miles in flight.
You saw it in action in the saga of Back to the future and in Blade Runnerbut also in Act of strength, Harry Potter And even in an old Disney movie, A professor in the clouds. But now we no longer speak of fiction, because The flying car has become reality … at least in terms of prototype.
The Alef Model A, in fact, is a revolutionary electric vehicle, capable of taking off vertically thanks to a pair of engines Positioned where traditional cars have hood and trunk. There will not be a lot of space for suitcases or for shopping envelopes, of course, but at least City traffic could soon become a memorysince this aircraft, designed to travel on the road like a normal car, can take off at any time.
As in the cinema. A video published by Alef Aeronautics, the US startup that designed the prototype of flying car, shows one of the first tests in San Mateo, California: The car takes off as a stop, lifts up and flies at low altitude above the city.
«It is an important step to demonstrate our technology in a real urban environment»Explained CEO Jim Dukhovny, who on the company’s website says he took the idea from the famous Dr. Brown of Back to the future IIwho in 1989 said: “Where we go there is no need for roads”. Now it seems that that joke can become reality, and among other things it all began in 2015, that is, the year in which, in fiction, “Doc” Brown and Marty Mcfly “return” to the future with the iconic Delorean.
Top Secret. Dukhovny’s team worked on this Project for ten yearskeeping the maximum reserve to date.
“We waited to guarantee the safety of our vehicle before showing it to the public,” explains the company in a note. Model A is a car completely electricitywith an autonomy of 320 km on the road and about 180 km in flight. The propellers are hidden in the internal structure for greater safety and less noisy. In addition, the cabin design guarantees stability both while driving and during the flight. The expected price is around $ 300,000 and Alef has already received thousands of reservations.
Regulatory obstacles. The dream of a flying car, however, clashes with technological and regulatory limits. In addition to improving the autonomy of the batteries, in fact, they serve clear regulations for the management of urban air traffic.
In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a special aeronavigability certificate for Model A, But it will spend a long time before the authorization for large -scale use.
“It will still take at least a decade from the complete regulation of flying cars,” said Charles Leocha, president of the group Traveled United. This brakes potential buyers, because the vehicle, despite being technically ready, is not yet usable for everyday life.
