Klein Vision’s viral AirCar is getting ready to roll out for consumers as early as next year, but it’ll cost a pretty penny for those who want to skip the traffic in their daily commute.
Flying cars are an iconic symbol of the future, with classic cartoons like The Jetsons creating an enviable vision of an age where people are no longer bound to the road.
Decades later, we’re nearly there, as Slovak designer Stephen Klein’s AirCar is almost complete and ready to hit dealerships.
Klein has been designing flying cars since the late 1980s, and finished his first famous prototype roadable aircraft, the AeroMobil, in the mid-2010s.
After failing to acquire new financing in 2023, the project closed down — but that didn’t stop Klein from trying his hand at another model.
Now, his master work, the AirCar, is set to be the first of its kind to be commercially available to consumers as early as next year.
Flying cars are finally coming – but they’re not cheap
The AirCar is a two-seater, long-range flying car powered by a BMW road car engine that runs on gasoline. It’s notable for having four wheels, unlike many of its three-wheeled counterparts, and transitions seamlessly from driving to flying, and vice-versa.
“You align the car in the direction of the runway, and you push a button on the steering wheel. That turns the steering wheel into a yoke so you can control the ailerons. At the same time you can push or pull it to control the elevators. There are two additional pedals that serve as rudder controls,” co-founder Anton Zajac said in a statement to New Atlas.
The AirCar’s 5th-gen prototype is scheduled to fly in September 2025, and is expected to get fully certified with the EASA or US FAA later that same month, with mass production starting in early 2026.
Klein Vision’s AirCar will be customizeable, with prices ranging from $800K – $1.2M.
What’s more, you won’t necessarily need a pilot’s license to drive the AirCar. Zajac explained that “if you have a driver’s license, you can drive our roadable flying car,” adding that “if you have a PPL, private pilot’s license, the AirCar has been designed in such a way that you don’t have to learn anything new.”
While it’s certainly a jaw-dropping idea, the AirCar has a high barrier to entry; Zajac says that its pricing is based on four-seater aircraft, landing the cost “between US$800,000 to $1.2 million, depending on the engine and the level of luxury in the cockpit.”
That’s not all; Klein Vision also has plans to introduce an amphibian version of the AirCar in the future, making it suitable for all kinds of travel through air, land and sea.
It definitely feels like we’re stepping into the future, what with the prevalence of AI like ChatGPT and the release of Google’s new quantum computer chip, Willow, which experts say is able to run so quickly due to working with alternate versions of itself in different timelines.
Content shared from www.dexerto.com.