Last year, a Californian firm called Alef Aeronautics unveiled the Alef Model A, its bizarre take on a flying car with a US$ 300,000 sticker price and a promise it would reach production in 2025. Many scoffed at this idea, chalking the Model A up as another piece of vaporware that would never reach the road (or the skies). Remarkably, the company has now inked a manufacturing deal to make it a reality.
Alef claims to have 3,200 pre-orders for
its flying car and has already received a Special Airworthiness Certification
from the US Federal Aviation Administration for it. It has also reached a deal
to sell it through a dealership in California and earlier this week, said it had
signed an agreement with PUCARA Aero and MYC to manufacture aviation-grade
certifiable parts for it. While you may not be familiar with PUCARA Aero and
MYC, the two companies manufacture various parts for civil and military
airplanes, helicopters, and drones, and are suppliers for Boeing and Airbus.
The Model A is unique from other flying
cars we’ve seen as it doesn’t have large wings, nor does it require a long
runway to take off. Instead, the porous bodywork hides four powerful propellers
that provide it with the lift required to get off the ground. Suspended in the
unique chassis is a small passenger pod. The small firm says it’s been
“designed to drive on the street, take off vertically when needed and fly
overheard above traffic.”
Alef is hopeful it can start producing the
Model A in Q4 2025 and start deliveries soon after. It is also planning a
second flying car known as the Model Z that may be available for as little as US$ 35,000.
