Car that can turn into plane to ‘go on sale within next six months’

A car that can transform itself into a plane within three minutes is expected to go on sale within the next six months.

The AirCar V5 is the brainchild of Slovakian professor Stefan Klein, who has been working on the concept for three decades in the hope of bringing it to market.

Mr Klein completed two 1,500 feet-high flights of the vehicle at Piestany Airport in Slovakia this week. He hopes to sell the vehicles to high net worth individuals and claims to have already secured one buyer.

While most flying cars look considerably more like drones that can carry passengers, the Klein-Vision vehicle looks more like an elongated car with wings. It also differs from traditional concepts in that it requires a runway to take off, unlike the more common electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles — or eVTOLs — that take off from helipads.

The AirCar, which completed two takeoffs and landings this week, is powered by a BMW 1.6 litre engine with a power output of 140 horsepower. A price for the vehicle was not disclosed.

Mr Klein claims the car has a range of 1,000km, which is considerably longer than the traditional 100km range associated with eVTOLs.

“The key flight parameters confirmed all theoretical concepts and calculations that the development of the AirCar was based on,” Mr Klein said, stating that the vehicle would be up for sale within the next six months.

The Slovakian professor, who co-founded the business with Anton Zajac, the president of cybersecurity firm ESET, claims the car can reach speeds of up to 124mph.

“With AirCar you will arrive at your destination without the hassle of getting a ride to the airport and passing through commercial security, you can drive your AirCar to the golf course, the office, the mall or your hotel and park it in a normal parking space,” Mr Zajac said.

Flying cars as a concept have become increasingly popular in recent years with companies like Uber backing the idea of air taxis. Similarly Hyundai has outlined its own plans to enter the market, albeit with an eVTOL, by 2028.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have tipped the flying car market to be worth $1.5 trillion (£1.14 trillion) by 2040.