Slovakian flying car manufacturer Aeromobil, revealed its first commercially available vehicle at this years Top Marques show in Monaco on 20 April.
Named the Aeromobil Flying Car, the vehicle will be shown off in person for the very first time in Monaco on 20 April, some 27 years after the company began developing a car which works on the road as well as it does in the sky.
Powered by a hybrid motor, the vehicle complies with existing regulatory framework for both cars and planes, while foldable wings mean even city-centre driving should be possible.
The company, which scooped up $3.2m (£2.6m) in additional investor funding on 9 April, said the flying car “heralds in a new era in efficiency and exciting travel, offering users an unparalleled choice of transport on the road or in the air.”
Aeromobil believes the commercial availability of its car will make personal transport “vastly more efficient and environmentally friendly by allowing significantly faster door-to-door travel for medium distance trips and in areas with limited or missing road infrastructure.”
Aeromobil says its confident that the flying car will be available to pre-order later in 2017.
A potential customer for the Aeromobil could be Uber, the ride-sharing company which in late 2016 announced Elevate, a division set up to develop flying cars. Uber sees a future where autonomous flying machines capable of traveling at 150mph carry passengers up to 100 miles at a time, and are requested via a smartphone app like Uber taxis are today.
CTO, Doug MacAndrew, stated
The current level of scientifc knowledge and expertise of engineers worldwide has provided essential support for this revolutionary era in personal transport. The availability of lightweight construction materials, increases in power density of the latest engines, and advances in systems software and hardware solutions have opened up completely new possibilities in vehicle design and engineering.
Video Courtesy of AeroMobil