Two flying car prototypes launched on French Riviera

MONACO: Two flying car prototypes were launched on Thursday on the French Riviera, at an event showcasing "supercars" in Monaco.
Two flying car prototypes launched on French Riviera
© AFP

Dutch and Slovak companies unveiled their designs as world premieres in the tiny well-heeled principality, where luxury automakers have gathered until Sunday for the Top Marques showcase event.

Bratislava-based Aeromobil, whose first prototype presented two years ago suffered an accident, is back with a "new generation" of flying vehicle

.

"We are taking reservations from today for deliveries expected in 2020, after the process of (regulatory) approvals is completed," the Slovak firm's spokesman Stefan Vadocz said.

The Aeromobil vehicle, six metres long and with a fully-deployed span of nine metres, is a normal four-wheeled car which can unfold its wings to transform itself into a plane able to fly two passengers at a cruising speed of 260km/h for up to 750 kilometres.

Price

The price? Between €1.2m and €1.5m, depending on options chosen.

Its Dutch rival for the futuristic vehicle type, the Pal-V Liberty, is the brainchild of Robert Dingemanse, whose company is based near Breda in the south of the Netherlands.

His crossover car-plane is more compact, at four metres long, and should be deliverable as early as next year, once official approvals are secured. He is already taking orders for a vehicle which will cost between €299,000 and €499,000.

Gyrocopter with three wheels, retractable rotor

The Dutch flying car is, in fact, a gyrocopter with three wheels and a retractable rotor. It can carry two people at a cruising speed of 160km/h for between 400-500 kilometres.

It is "one of the safest flying machines on the planet," able to fly "whatever the weather conditions," say its designers.

Users of the Aeromobil and the Pal-V Liberty will require both a driving licence and a pilot's qualification.


 
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