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Watch this Slovakian flying car take its first flight

When it comes to flying cars (or driving planes), the recent vehicle that most often comes to mind is the Terrafugia Transition. But that street-legal flying car has experienced years of delays, and the Aeromobil 2.5, a much sexier-looking flying car designed and built in Slovakia, recently made its first test flight.

It may seem like the Aeromobil made a quick entrance, but company co-founder and chief designer Štefan Klein has devoted 20 years to its development. The 2.5 in its name means that it's the prototype of the third-generation Aeromobil - development of 1.0 started in 1990, and it looked much different from the current prototype. It has collapsible wings that are swept back for driving duties and unfolded for flight.

Using a steel frame with a carbon-fiber body, the Aeromobil 2.5 weighs 992 pounds empty and has a rear-mounted propeller powered by a Rotax 912 engine. In-flight maximum speed is claimed to be more than 124 miles per hour, though max speed on the ground drops to more than 100 mph (Aeromobil hasn't released exact numbers). Flying range is claimed to be 430 miles, and the driving range is limited to 310 miles.

Watch the Aeromobil 2.5 make its first, short test flight in the video below, and be sure to visit the photo galleries we included - one which contains images of Aeromobil 2.5, the other which contains renderings of Aeromobil 3.0.

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