PAL-V International B.V.

Headquarters: The Netherlands

What: The Dutch manufacturer revealed the PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle) Liberty Sport Edition at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland.

Part car and part gyroplane, the three-wheeled Liberty Sport has two Rotax airplane engines that help it rise to more than 11,000 feet in the sky and fly at a top speed of 112 mph for about 250 miles at maximum weight.

On ground, the two-person, gas-powered vehicle can reach a top speed of about 100 mph. Transitioning the car from earthbound to air-ready can be done manually in five to 10 minutes. Unlike other flying car designs, the PAL-V cannot take off or land vertically. Take-off distance ranges from 300 to 650 feet.

To fly the PAL-V in Europe requires a recreational or private pilot license. The company chose to create a flying car with proven technologies and existing road and air regulations instead of developing “a flying car concept on the basis of not yet existing or immature technologies, requiring new regulations,” said Mike Stekelenburg, PAL-V’s chief engineer. “This approach enables a realistic and imminent first product delivery date.”

When: Only 90 of the first-edition model PAL-V Liberty Pioneer will be made. Price is $399,000, which includes flying lessons. First deliveries are expected in Europe in 2019.