Alef Aeronautics caused some excitement in the flying car media this weekend with the announcement that it had received special airworthiness certification for the prototype of its unusual design. While some outlets had the skies imminently crowded with the traffic-hopping creation, it turns out the FAA certification has some pretty tight restrictions, including flying it only as an experimental aircraft for display, research and test hops. And before the agency will even consider customer deliveries, the Alef will have to be signed off by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, which may be its highest hurdle.
For what it’s worth, the design gets points for originality. On the ground, it looks like a bulbous sports car with four wheels where they’re expected to be. But the cabin is a gimballed sphere in the middle that becomes important when the Alef leaves the asphalt. If traffic or some other obstacle gets in its way, eight rotors housed inside a shroud that forms the body of the car will hoist it vertically. To go forward, the body of the car, which has a mesh topside, tilts forward and the gimballed cabin keeps the driver/pilot level. The sides of the body then become airfoils that provide lift as the Alef moves at an anticipated speed of about 35 mph.
Although it has a long way to go before customer deliveries, Alef is taking preorders for the device, which it intends to sell for $300,000. The company claims to have numerous well-heeled backers and future customers and believes it can get full certification by the end of 2025.
