Spectacular flying car unveiled at MWC in Barcelona

Mobile World Congress (MWC) has long ceased to be an event dedicated solely to presenting the latest developments in the world of telephony. There are countless examples, but just look at this year’s agenda to see this. One of the main attractions of the congress taking place these days in Barcelona is the presentation of the flying car. Yes, you read that right.

It is a two-seater car developed by the American company Alef Aeronautics, called Model A, which was first presented at the 2023 Detroit Auto Show. The company boasts that it is the “world’s first true flying car.” and ensures that it differs from its competitors in three ways: it is 100% electric, it takes off vertically and In addition to flying through the sky, it is also capable of traveling along roads.. Although it is a low speed vehicle (LSV), its top speed on land will be 40 km/h.

“Designed to fly above traffic jams, The car will be a solution to the problems of modern traffic jams in cities. We will provide faster and easier travel with our proprietary technology that lifts the vehicle without the need for runways. “Aleph will offer a safe and affordable vehicle that will change your daily commute, will comply with all road regulations and can be parked in normal sized parking spaces and garages,” the company itself explains on its website.

Model A will have a range of 177 kilometers and a highway range of 320 kilometers. It will cost $300,000, and Aleph plans to begin selling it in the fourth quarter of 2025. Although interested customers can now queue up to purchase it for $150, and even gain access to priority queue by paying $1,500. Currently, almost 3,000 people have signed up for the waiting list.

But in parallel, The company has assured that the Model Z will go on sale in 2035. a sedan that seats four will have a more affordable price tag of $35,000. This second model will have a range of 320 kilometers and a road range of almost 650 kilometers.

This is how the car will fly

Model A will function as a drone of sorts and will have four wheels and hub motors. The driver will have a stability system that adapts to the pilot thanks to an “exclusive rotating gimbal cockpit design” that According to the company, this will ensure a smooth and stable flight. For greater safety, the propellers that will be installed on the vehicle will not be affected.

According to Alef Aeronautics, its flying car will offer unique flight capabilities in any direction (forward, backward, right, left, up, down, at an angle). This will allow passengers to avoid problem areas on the ground by flying over them. Everything is from a bird’s eye view, with a 180-degree panoramic view.

“The machine has a distributed electric propulsion system and an advanced safety and flight stabilization system. Key components have been replicated three to eight times, and real-time 1,000-point diagnostics are performed to detect failures. In addition, it has an obstacle detection and avoidance system, a glider and an automatic parachute,” the company said.

Aleph’s flying car will be powered by clean energy, and the company has stressed that it will help keep the air clean. in cities. Although the hydrogen version of the car will go on sale at a higher price, it will have a longer range and flight. In any case, the car will be passable on any road and in any weather conditions.

Last July The US Federal Aviation Administration has given the car permission to fly, although limited to be able to start testing it. But in the long term, Aleph will also need approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make its vehicles roadworthy.

From a plan on a napkin to reality

Alef Aeronautics was founded in 2015 with the goal of creating a flying car. The four partners who created the company met at the Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto, California. They immediately drew a close-up of the car on a napkin.. Then they thought that they could build it in six months. Today they themselves admit that they underestimated the complexity.

Among the company’s priorities one of the main ones was the creation of affordable cars for everyone, and not “only for the rich”. In 2016, the first prototype was built on a smaller scale: a car body on wheels the size of a hand. And the tests began software And Hardwareincluding wind tunnel simulations.

“The next important step was to demonstrate that the machine could effectively perform forward flight. to prove that it will serve for everyday transportation. Once this was achieved, significant investment was made and the team made good progress,” the company explains on its website, which also details that the first full-size “skeleton” flew in 2018 and demonstrated that sub-scale calculations and research were true. correct.

In 2019, after four years of research and development, a full-size prototype was released. And in 2021, the team wanted to focus on the appearance of the car, for which they hired designer Hirash Razaghi, who previously worked at Bugatti and Jaguar. He was responsible for giving the car its current sporty look.

Finally, in 2022, the company officially changed its name to Aleph and launched a website. As they explained, They took the name from the first letters of the Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Syriac alphabets. among other things, with the idea of ​​illustrating “the leadership position we will eventually take in the hearts, minds and garages of the public.” By the way, on their page it says that they are looking for workers.