At the Geneva motor show, PAL-V has publically debuted the world’s first commercial flying car, the Liberty. The Pioneer edition of the car is priced at $599,000, before taxes. This price includes some flight instruction sessions, power heating and personalisation options.
PAL-V claims that the three-wheeled Liberty is fully compliant with all the current regulations and says it represents a “pivotal time in aviation and mobility history”. The three-wheeled Liberty will make its first customer delivery next year.
But only 90 units of this car will be produced with around half of them headed to Europe, and after their delivery the Dutches will start delivery of the Liberty Sport model.
The Liberty Sport Model is priced from $399,000 before taxes on the manufacturer’s website. Due to low price this flying-car doesn’t offer same level of personalisation available as the Pioneer Edition but still comes with flying lessons, while options include power heating and carbon fiber detailing.
The Liberty has a three-wheel layout and has rotor blades on the roof which fold away.
The car is like a gyrocopter aircraft with two engines. The Rotax engine-based dual propulsion drivetrain includes one engine for driving and one for flying, with an unpowered large rotor on top that provides lift, while an engine-powered blade on the rear of the vehicle gives thrust.
But since it is a flying car you’ll need a special license to fly, and you can’t just take off and land anywhere. The liberty requires requires a take-off space of around 90-200×200 metres without obstacles. The manufacturer says the noise will be “much less” than a helicopter.
The drive mode engine has 100hp and a top speed of 161kph, with 0-100kph sprint taking 9.0sec. Fuel economy is claimed 13.17kpl with a range of 1,315km.
In the air, the Liberty can fly to a maximum altitude of 3,500m, and its 200hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 180kph. Its range is a claimed upto 499km.
The flying car will be assembled in the Netherlands, with specific parts and systems manufactured by other companies in different countries.
