- Production of the Model A could start as early as Q4 2025.
- Alef has already received an airworthiness certification from the FAA.
- The Californian company is also working on a more affordable flying car starting at just $35,000.
Last year, a Californian firm called Alef Aeronautics unveiled the Alef Model A, its bizarre take on a flying car with a $300,000 sticker price and a promise it would reach production in 2025. Many scoffed at this idea, chalking the Model A up as another piece of vaporware that would never reach the road (or the skies). Remarkably, the company has now inked a manufacturing deal to make it a reality.
Alef claims to have 3,200 pre-orders for its flying car and has already received a Special Airworthiness Certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration for it. It has also reached a deal to sell it through a dealership in California and earlier this week, said it had signed an agreement with PUCARA Aero and MYC to manufacture aviation-grade certifiable parts for it.
Read: Alef Model A Is A Flying Car Unlike Any Other, We See It In Person
While you may not be familiar with PUCARA Aero and MYC, the two companies manufacture various parts for civil and military airplanes, helicopters, and drones, and are suppliers for Boeing and Airbus.
“With a growing number of pre-orders and approaching its final design, Alef began to sign agreements to prepare for mass manufacturing for our Model A car,” Alef chief executive Jim Dukhovny said. “Safety is our number one priority, so we chose PUCARA Aero and MYC for their impeccable safety record, and compliance with major aviation authorities.”
The Model A is unique from other flying cars we’ve seen as it doesn’t have large wings, nor does it require a long runway to take off. Instead, the porous bodywork hides four powerful propellers that provide it with the lift required to get off the ground. Suspended in the unique chassis is a small passenger pod. The small firm says it’s been “designed to drive on the street, take off vertically when needed and fly overheard above traffic.”
Alef is hopeful it can start producing the Model A in Q4 2025 and start deliveries soon after. It is also planning a second flying car known as the Model Z that may be available for as little as $35,000.