Future you could avoid traffic jams in this $300,000 flying car

By Dean Murray via SWNS

An incredible £270,000 ($301,500) flying car will drive on roads - but can take off to avoid traffic jams.

California company Alef Aeronautics claim the Model A uses the existing urban infrastructure for driving and parking and is "the world's first real flying car".

According to their vision, the vehicle could potentially travel in futuristic road highways in the sky.

Alef, who plans to make the first deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2025, state their car is the only one able to drive on roads and vertically take off.

The Model A, described as a "solution to the issues of modern congestion", has a driving range of 200 miles and a flight range of 110 miles.

It began pre-sale on 19 October, with £135 regular queue or £1,345 priority queue deposit.

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 say they have been test driving and flying a full-size prototype since 2019.

They explain: "It has a distributed electric propulsion system, no exposed propellers, extensive software flight stabilisation and safety system, elevon stabilisation system, and all wheel driving.

"Key safety components include triple to octuple redundancy of all key components, real-time thousand point diagnostics, pre-flight reject start diagnostics, obstacle detection and avoidance among others."

The Alef founding team of Constantine Kisly, Pavel Markin, Oleg Petrov and Jim Dukhovny has over 70 years of experience in engineering and technology development and has been working on the Alef flying car since 2015.

It earned early support from distinguished investors and industry veterans, led by Tim Draper (who, among others, was one of the first venture capitalists to invest in Tesla), former head of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Ford Aerospace Dr. Anthony Tether, NBA star Luis Scola, Bugatti designer Hirash Razaghi and others.

With additional models in development, Alef is working towards the four-person sedan, Alef "Model Z", scheduled for introduction in 2035 priced at £31k.

It will be capable of flying 300+ miles with a driving range of 220+ miles.