The World's First Functional Flying Car Has Arrived

For years, flying cars have been the end all be all of futurism. How can we tell humanity has reached the pinnacle level of technological advancement? Why, flying cars, of course.

Forget the fact that we've launched an unparalleled internet communication sphere that people all over the world literally have at their fingertips. Let us not get too wrapped up in the fact that NASA claims to be sending land rovers gliding through space caves, emerging with antiquated DNA samples. There are 3D printers that can whip up a burger or delectable dessert at laser speed (via CNN)? Ha. Futurism scoffs in the face of your culinary attempts. Robotic pets, floating sustainable farmland, and a wildlife preserve that eerily mimics "Jurassic Park" by attempting to re-create the sub-arctic ecosystem that hasn't existed since the last glacial period (via The Atlantic)? "Cool," you say. Still, no cigar.

If you're one of the millions of people who believe the future cannot be proven with anything short of an actual, functional flying car, congratulations: for you, the future might have just arrived (via CBS).

Sure, we've all seen flying cars before. The problem is, they can't seem to get off the ground. Perhaps that is the future's way of laughing back or humanity's justice for never being satisfied. Whatever the reason, Gizmodo reports that the flying Pinto of the '70s met its end in a fiery crash that claimed the lives of its inventors. In 2020, a Japanese model from SkyDrive Inc. underwhelmed the world by hovering for about four minutes with one lone passenger aboard (via Daily Democrat).

With AirCar, things are different.

This flying car is doing something other prototypes have not. According to CBS News, it is flying. It is flying between cities, past skyscrapers, and over airport runways. It has been seen soaring through the skies at speeds of 115 miles per hour with its inventor, professor Stefan Klein, fully intact and at the wheel. Reports show that this awe-inspiring invention is now paving the way for dual-mode car-aircraft vehicles, taking to the sky and reaching phenomenal heights more than 8,000 feet in the air. This model sports retractable wings and a BMW engine — it can revert into a sports car in under three minutes — and there are over 40 hours of test-flight under its hood.