AirCar flying car to be delivered in early 2026
After a long period of development, the AirCar flying car is finally coming onto the market. However, it is not suitable for every budget.
Artist's impression of the series version of the AirCar
(Image: Klein Vision)
Drive and fly: This should be possible next year. The Slovakian company Klein Vision wants to launch its flying car on the market.
Founder Stefan Klein has been working on flying cars since the early 1990s. He recently presented renderings of the production version of the flying car at the Living Legends of Aviation Gala Dinner in Los Angeles. The company hopes to receive approval for Europe and the USA from the relevant aviation authorities by the fall. The AirCar should then be available in spring 2026, as reported by the US online magazine New Atlas and the British car TV magazine TopGear.
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The AirCar is a hybrid of a road vehicle and a small aircraft that is supposed to transform from one to the other in less than two minutes at the touch of a button. Accordingly, two licenses are required to use the AirCar: a driver's license for the road and a private pilot's license for the air.
The rear is reminiscent of a racing car
As a car, the two-seater is 5.8 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.8 meters high. This means it fits in a conventional parking space. In flight mode, the wings are folded out to the side and the rear is extended – with the double vertical stabilizer and the attached wing, it is reminiscent of the rear wing of a racing car. The AirCar is then 7 meters long and has a wingspan of 8.2 meters.
In the air, a rear propeller drives the vehicle. For flight operation, the engine is disconnected from the axle and connected to the propeller. This is a conventional combustion engine. Klein Vision installed a 140 hp engine from a BMW motorcycle in the prototypes. For the series version, the company is switching to Adept Airmotive. The South African manufacturer supplies a six-cylinder engine in three power levels: 280, 320 and 340 hp.
On the road, the AirCar accelerates to just under 200 km/h, in the air even to just under 250 km/h, with a cruising speed of around 200 km/h. The vehicle has three tanks with a total capacity of around 160 liters. This should enable the AirCar to travel 800 kilometers on the road and 1000 kilometers in the air.
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The current prototype of the AirCar flew for the first time in 2020 and received its airworthiness certificate in 2022. According to Klein Vision, it has now completed over 500 launches and more than 170 flight hours. Klein crashed an earlier prototype in 2015. However, the accident was minor.
Klein Vision plans to deliver the first AirCars in the first quarter of next year. Depending on the engine and cockpit equipment, it will cost between 800,000 US dollars and 1.2 million US dollars.
(wpl)
