Flying cars – they’re only on the big screen, right? You can’t actually time travel in a DeLorean, can you? Because of that movie, the fanbase predicted flying cars to be the norm by 2015. That obviously didn’t happen in terms of real life.
However, the Alef founding team of Constantine Kisly, Pavel Markin, Oleg Petrov and Jim Dukhovny with more than 70 years of experience in engineering and technology development actually did start work on a flying car in 2015. Now, Alef formally introduced its flying car with street driving and vertical take-off, the Alef "Model A."
The Alef Model A flying car, with a driving range of 200 miles and a flight range of 110 miles. Importantly, it fits within existing urban infrastructure for driving and parking. It’s a low-speed vehicle which has legal speed and other limitations in most states. With this car, if a driver needs a faster route, the driver will use Alef’s flight capabilities.
The Alef flying car has flight capabilities that go in any direction, offering the ability to bypass problematic areas on the ground. It also offers a cinematic 180-degree-plus view for safe flight.
The flying car’s features include a distributed electric propulsion system, no exposed propellers, extensive software flight stabilization and safety system, elevon stabilization system and all wheel driving. Safety components include triple to octuple redundancy of all key components, real-time thousand-point diagnostics, pre-flight reject start diagnostics and obstacle detection and avoidance.
"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,” said Alef CEO Jim Dukhovny. “By enabling consumers to choose driving or flying mode, the Alef flying car allows the optimal path depending on road conditions, weather and infrastructure."
It should be noted that the Alef flying car is a clean energy vehicle. A hydrogen option also may be offered to customers at a higher price, but with an extended drive and flight range.
The Alef flying car is available for pre-sale for $300,000 – with $150 regular queue or $1,500 priority queue deposit. The company plans to begin production and initiate first deliveries in Q4 of 2025.
Alef also has additional models in development as it works toward a four-person sedan with the Alef "Model Z," scheduled for introduction in 2035. The sedan will be capable of flying at least 300 miles with a driving range over 220 miles.
No, time travel is still limited to the movies, but like so many other tech innovations, the big screen is once again coming to life in the real world.