While we’re busy seeing world governments and manufacturers embrace the transition to electric vehicles, there’s one aspect of a sci-fi future that no one has quite been able to deliver on: the promise of a flying car. Now it turns out that the reality of a winged automobile doesn’t look as far off as it once did – but it’s not going to be anywhere near affordable.
Having factored in the various expensive elements needed to make an airborne car a reality, including retractable wings, jet engines and large fuel tanks, the Pentagon Motor Group did the math. The result is a model that, if available for purchase, would be pricier than Ferrari’s 986 hp SF90 Stadale hybrid supercar.
See: Flying Taxi Industry Will Require $20 Billion Investment, Says Porsche
The estimated asking prices has been calculated to be $686,455; by comparison, the 2021 SF90 Stradale has an MSRP of $625,000 in the U.S. According to a report by Fox Business, Pentagon Motor Group’s marketing chief Shakeel Hussian says that the cost of owning a flying car isn’t realistic for most, with it being identified as a luxury machine whose calling card is technology. But he expects costs to decrease as time goes on, following a trajectory similar to that of EVs. “The cost of the first electric cars started high and has slowly started to become more affordable and widely available.”
If you’re in the market for a flying car, Pentagon Motor Group shortlisted some of the cars they looked at when estimating a price, including the likes of AeroMobil, PAL-V, Aska, the Moller Skycar 400, Terrafugia, and the SkyDrive, all of which are expected to cost you a small fortune. But the expenses don’t stop there, between a flying license, insurance, as well as parking and fuel, owners can expect to pay an additional $69,000 during their very first year of ownership, which is easily convincing enough to conclude that, at least in the beginning, flying cars will only be aimed at the privileged few.