The AirCar Is a Luxury Flying Car, All Carbon Fiber and Self-Adjusting Jet Engines

The Lazzarini name might ring a bell with superyacht-watchers. Designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini and his Lazzarini Design studio are famous for their concepts, whether of superyachts, VTOLs (vertical take-off and landing aircraft), or occasionally a hypercar or two. Unlike most designers who only specialize in conceptual studies, Lazzarini also has its name tied to an actual product, the Jet Capsule.

Put it simply, if you want a futuristic take on ultra-luxurious transportation, Lazzarini is a very good place to start.

For decades, humanity has dreamed of the “perfect” transportation vehicle, one that would either be able to travel on land, on water and in the air, or would deliver unparalleled performance for the everyday Joe and Jane. For about as many decades, that perfect vehicle was – and remains – the flying car.

Ideally, the flying car can travel on land and in the air with the same ease and without compromising on performance. It would be affordable to buy and run, easy to operate, and would allow us to not just skip over traffic jams but actually prevent congestion altogether. Realistically speaking and despite what industry players have been saying for years, the flying car of tomorrow is still a long way away, even with the more recent developments in the field of VTOLs, whether electric or not.

This isn’t a story about the merits or the prospects for such an aircraft designed for personal use; all of the above serves to show that, while we’ve been dreaming about vehicles of this type for a very long time, we might as well settle in comfortably and prepare to do more of the same. Flying cars are nowhere close to reality, so if we’re to dream, we might as well do it big.

This is where the AirCar comes in. The latest study by Lazzarini, which specifically sets out to “reimagine the future of flying vehicles,” proposes a future in which personal air transportation is standard. Still, the AirCar is a luxury vehicle with an ultralight, all carbon fiber monocoque frame and the promise of outstanding performance. Us normies can dream all we want of a future flying car, but the AirCar is not it for us. Much like today’s in-development eVTOLs, this one too is a toy for the ultra-rich.

The AirCar measures 6 meters (19.6 feet) in total length and features four rotatable Rolls-Royce jet engines. The latter feature is what sets the AirCar apart from other real or conceptual aircraft of the kind since the engines constantly self-adjust, independently adapting the inclination and their own rotation to ensure stability and easy maneuverability. The AirCar is a 4x4 of the future, completely airborne; it’s still technically not a flying car, but it’s the closest thing to it.

The cabin is more spacious than on current VTOLs, offering seating for four people, the driver included, and panoramic views thanks to wraparound glazing. Even the roof and the butterfly doors are all-glass.

The studio doesn’t include any renders of the interior, but it’s safe to assume it’ll be fancy – and packed with tech, since we’re talking about a car of the future. There’s a glimpse of a steering wheel and a very familiar-looking dashboard, perhaps to tie in with the idea of a flying car, as well as two bucket seats in the front and two comfy benches in the rear, with additional space even farther back for small luggage. Speaking of tying in with the idea of a flying car, the AirCar is the closest to one of today’s passenger cars in styling, down to the taillights and the seat arrangement.

In terms of performance, it would leave any one of today’s eVTOLs in the dust, with an imagined 750 kph (466 mph) top speed and an autonomy of 1,200 km (746 miles) on jet fuel. Granted, the comparison isn’t exactly fair given the current state of battery tech that’s dragging the development of eVTOLs.

There are currently no plans to bring the AirCar into production, which is easily understandable: the development of VTOLs, whether electric or not, has to overcome massive hurdles, besides those of limited range and sub-par performance. It’s a losing fight for many startups, so Lazzarini is only testing the waters.

On that note, Lazzarini says they will be working on a prototype of the aircraft, with a tentative 2024 date pinned on the official reveal. If there’s interest in it then, maybe it could move on to prototype stage – a model the studio previously used for the luxury mini-yacht the Jet Capsule.

Until then, here’s how the luxury flying car of tomorrow might look. For the one-percenters, because they get to have all the fun, even hypothetically.