Not quite the Jetsons, but flying car to go on sale — for over $1 million

MONACO — It may not be quite like the Jetsons, but for more than $1 million you too can soon fly around in a car.

A Slovakian company called AeroMobil unveiled on Thursday its version of a flying car, a light-framed plane whose wings can fold back, like an insect, and is boosted by a hybrid engine and rear propeller.

AeroMobil displays its latest prototype of a flying car in Monaco. The light frame plane whose wings can fold back like an insect is boosted by a rear propeller.

It will be available to preorder as soon as this year but is not for everyone: besides the big price tag — between $1.3 million and $1.6 million — you’d need a pilot’s license to use it in the air.

“I think it’s going to be a very niche product,” said Philip Mawby, professor of electronic engineering and head of research at the University of Warwick.

Several companies are working on flying cars, either like Aeromobil’s two-seater that needs a runway, or others that function more like helicopters, lifting off vertically. But not many companies are seriously looking at marketing these vehicles anytime soon, Mr. Mawby said.

“The technology is there... The question is bringing it to the market at an affordable cost, and making it a useful product.”

Among the big questions is how to control the air traffic if there are hundreds of such vehicles zipping through the air. There is no control except for traditional aircraft, notes Mr. Mawby.

The AeroMobil has a driving range of about 62 miles and a top speed of 99 mph. When flying, its maximum cruising range is 466 miles, and it takes about three minutes for the car to transform into a plane.

“You can use it as a regular car,” said Juraj Vaculik, co-founder and CEO of Aeromobil, at the unveiling in Monaco. Though it is not legal —yet — to take off from a highway.