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AirCar set for real-world sales takeoff in 2026

Are we ready for real flying cars? Not electric mini helicopters or enlarged drones with ducted fans (those are coming too!), but drive-on-the-highway cars that also take off from an airport runway? Well Slovakia-based Klein Vision is, and its two-minute transformable AirCar -- which already holds a Certificate of Airworthiness in Europe and has successfully completed over 170 flight hours and more than 500 takeoffs and landings -- will officially go on sale next year.

Stefan Klein, the company's CEO and co-founder, has been working on flying car concept vehicles for more than 35 years. He started Klein Vision in 2017 with his friend and entrepreneur Anton Zajac after creating many flying car iterations. The company has 12 patents that protect "a new and unique way of transformation from aircraft to car and vice versa."

The company unveiled its production prototype (Prototype 2) at the 2025 Living Legends of Aviation Gala Dinner in Beverly Hills, CA, on April 25, 2025 -- probably to build some buzz and as a pre-runner to seeking FAA certification in the United States. The vehicle is capable of automatic transformation from car to aircraft in a couple of minutes, blending advanced aerodynamics, composite structures, and a new 300-hp engine. You can see the car transform in the first and second videos below. It is important to note that the vehicle can only be flown by a licensed pilot.

VIDEO: The flying car completes first ever inter-city flight on June 28, 2021. [Credit: Klein Vision]

To finally achieve the Certificate of Airworthiness for Prototype 1 in 2022 from the Slovakian Civil Aviation Authority (which is compatible with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards), Klein Vision says, "It took a team of eight highly skilled specialists and over 100,000 manhours." For this test, the AirCar Prototype 1 was equipped "with a 160-hp BMW engine with fixed propeller and a ballistic parachute." The AirCar had completed over 40 hours of test flights, including steep 45-degree turns and stability and maneuverability testing. This AirCar Prototype 1 had flown at 8,200 ft and reached a maximum cruising speed of 190 km/h (103 kt or 118 mph), according to Klein Vision.

According to a recent Top Gear article, "For the production spec versions, the previously reported BMW 1.6-liter engine [Prototype 1] is being swapped out for a new petrol-fueled powertrain from a South African provider." The South African-sourced new engine will be provided by ADEPT Airmotive. Klein Vision says the production Prototype 2 with the new engine "is expected to be certified in 12 months." Maximum altitude is 10,000 ft, because AirCar does not have (regulated) oxygen tanks to fly higher.

AirCar Prototype 2, the production model, will be equipped with its new 300-hp engine and receive the EASA CS-23 aircraft certification with an M1 road permit, according to Klein Vision. With its variable pitch pusher propeller, the company says Prototype 2 "is expected to have a cruise speed of 300 km/h (162 kt or 186 mph) and a flying range of 1,000 km (621 miles)." As a car on the road, the vehicle can be driven for 497 miles (800 km). It weighs 1,764 lb (800 kg) and has three fuel tanks that are filled with regular gasoline.

According to Robb Report, Zajac said the production model "will also climb and fly faster than the first prototype, and we've put in a larger cockpit."

According to CarBuzz, "Klein Vision has previously hinted at manufacturing in its native Slovakia, but the company is also open to establishing a facility in the U.S., which would help it avoid tariffs and bring it closer to the single largest market for light aircraft."

VIDEO: AirCar transformation. [Credit: Klein Vision]

Top Gear says the road top speed is 124 mph. In car mode, AirCar is "two meters wide, 5.8 m long, and 1.8 m tall -- comparable to a Rolls-Royce Phantom in all but height." Once the wings have been deployed with a push of a button, Top Gear says the total wingspan is 8.2 m, and the tail extends to a new total length of 7 m.

AirCar is meant to take off from standard runways -- not just any strip of road. It needs 300 m for takeoff. While parked, the pilot/driver pushes a button to transform the vehicle before entering the runway. The steering wheel takes on the function of a yoke, the wings move up and out, and the tail booms are extended. A 2021 article in The Engineer states, "the transition is made possible by over 20 programmable servo motors," and once in the air the vehicle "handles like a Cessna or similarly sized small aircraft." Prototype 1 needs to hit 75 mph to take off.

AirCar's co-creator, Anton Zajac, told Top Gear, "The key for the AirCar was to find the right shape and make sure you could park it within a standard space. ... We looked at an old Czechoslovakian creation, the Tatra. It was a car which, when it got up to speed, started to lift its nose like ... an aeroplane. We call this a 'lift body' shape, and so in our case, we looked here for inspiration. Using what we learnt and applying it to the AirCar, the body now produces a 30 percent upward pull force, which is just the right amount for when you want lift-off."

In Klein Vision press materials from 2020, Dr. Branko Sarh, Boeing Co. Senior Technical Fellow (ret.), said, "The wing and tail deployment/retraction mechanism is very impressive, converting the automobile into an airplane. The cockpit providing space for the driver/pilot and a passenger is very roomy and nicely styled. The overall appearance of the flying car on road and in the air is superb."

"The stability and controllability of the AirCar is accessible to any pilot," says the AirCar maker.

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

VIDEO: Jean-Michel Jarre is world's first passenger to take off in Klein Vision's flying AirCar. [Credit: Klein Vision]

Klein Vision plans on expanding the AirCar line in the future to include four-seat and twin-engine versions.

Will AirCar fly with the public -- especially here in the U.S.? We'd love to hear what you think. Starting price has still not been determined. Articles state a starting price anywhere from $800,000 to $1.2 million. Klein Vision has not confirmed a set price.

Learn more at https://www.klein-vision.com/.

Sources: Klein Vision, Top Gear, CarBuzz, Robb Report

Published May 2025

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