In a moment that would’ve had the Wright brothers nodding in bemused approval — and perhaps ducking — Slovakian innovator Stefan Klein quite literally upstaged Hollywood’s finest, rolling out the production prototype of his jaw-dropping AirCar at the Living Legends of Aviation Gala in Beverly Hills.
Forget Teslas. Forget Uber Copters. This is a car with wings — and not just metaphorically. It’s part Batmobile, part Cessna, part fever dream from a 1950s comic book — and it’s very real.
Dressed like a Bond villain’s gentler cousin, Klein took to the stage flanked by his futuristic invention: a white, purring machine capable of transforming from street cruiser to sky dancer in under two minutes. Yes, you read that right. Two. Minutes.
From Garage to Gala
This wasn’t just a product launch. It was theatre. Accompanied by a short film charting Klein’s 35-year obsession with making cars fly — through five design generations, several sceptics, and more than a few raised eyebrows — the AirCar was presented not as a gimmick, but as the future of personal mobility. Or at least, the future of bypassing Sydney traffic.
The gala’s glittering guest list included Prince Harry, who kept his feet firmly on the red carpet, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who knows something about unconventional transport. With John Travolta and Morgan Freeman emceeing — yes, really — the evening celebrated the aviation elite. But when the AirCar took centre stage, even the legends looked skyward.
A Legend Takes Wing
“I’m honoured and humbled,” said Klein, clutching his Special Recognition Award for Engineering Excellence, blinking modestly beneath the stage lights. “The AirCar brings my dream — the freedom to fly anytime — into the everyday lives of ordinary people.”
Ordinary? Perhaps. But this car is anything but.
Boasting a 280-horsepower engine, retractable wings, a folding tail, and more sass than a Melbourne cabbie on Cup Day, the AirCar is already certified for flight and has racked up over 170 hours in the air — and more than 500 take-offs and landings. That’s more reliable than some regional airlines.
Klein Vision, the Slovak firm behind the beast, says the AirCar meets the rigorous safety standards of both air and road travel — a rare feat that would leave most designers weeping into their drafting paper.
“The AirCar Has Landed”
Top Gear’s James May, who rarely finds himself at a loss for words (and seldom misses the pub), watched the AirCar in flight last year at a Slovakian airfield.
“Very rarely am I lost for words,” he said, before doing precisely that. “But I am lost for words.”
Meanwhile, Emmy-winning Apollo 11 director Todd Douglas Miller offered a cinematic take: “From the cockpit of another aircraft, I watched the AirCar in motion. It’s something that belongs in a dream. Or in Kubrick’s 2001. But here it is. And it flies.”
Indeed, it does. And according to co-founder Anton Zajac — who speaks in the calm, clinical tones of someone who’s seen the future — the AirCar is more than just a plaything for billionaires.
“We’re not just witnessing the future of transport,” Zajac declared. “We’re building it.”
He’s not wrong. With the global air mobility market expected to skyrocket to US$162 billion by 2034, and industry growth tracking at over 50% CAGR, the runway — or highway, in this case — is wide open.
Not Just Pie in the Sky
There’s always scepticism when someone says “flying car,” usually accompanied by an eye roll and a weary sigh about Jetsons-style promises that never landed.
But the AirCar has landed—literally—and it’s been tested rigorously. The shift from prototype to production is no small thing—this marks the first real push into commercially viable, certified dual-mode vehicles.
You won’t need a private hangar either. The production model will drive into a standard garage, cruise through city traffic, then hit the tarmac and soar. A little like your average Uber, if your driver is also a licensed pilot with a PhD in aerospace design.
A New Dawn in Motion
The folks at Klein Vision aren’t resting on their carbon-fibre laurels either. They’re reportedly working on electrified versions, additional safety layers, and future partnerships that could expand the concept beyond Slovakia and the wealthy early adopters.
There’s even talk of training academies to help brave (or wildly optimistic) drivers leap into the sky without damaging the neighbour’s pergola.
And in case you’re wondering: yes, you’ll need a pilot’s licence to fly it, for now.
Where to Next?
Klein Vision expects the AirCar to go commercial in 2026, with pricing expected to start around US$800,000. Pricey? Sure. But then again, you can’t put a price on not sitting on the M1 for 90 minutes behind a caravan doing 70 in the overtaking lane.
For now, the AirCar remains a glimpse into what could be—a future where the line between road and sky is as blurry as the dreams that brought us here.
But this one’s got wings, unlike so many ideas born on cocktail napkins at tech expos. And it’s flying.
📺 Watch the AirCar in action here
🌐 Learn more at Klein Vision’s website
