AeroMobil introduces $1.3M flying car

April 21 (UPI) -- Slovakia-based company AeroMobil unveiled its flying car at a Monaco car show and began taking pre-orders, starting at $1.3 million, it said.

Supply will be limited to 500 vehicles, and deliveries will begin in 2020. Each will cost between $1.3 million and $1.6 million. The car/plane hybrid was introduced Thursday at the Top Marques show of exotic cars in Monaco.

The two-seat car, with an electric engine and a carbon-fiber body, is meant to be driven as well as flown. Its specifications sheet shows it can transform from car to aircraft, using pull-out wings, in three minutes. It has around 434 miles of driving range or around 466 miles of flight range when traveling at 75 percent of its maximum speed, which is 100 mph on the road and 224 mph in the air. The price includes a parachute for emergency landings and numerous airbags to withstand crashes.

It is not a VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] plane, and will require an airport runway, or at least a flat stretch of road, to become airborne. Both a driver's license and a pilot's license will be required of the operator.

AeroMobil CEO Juraj Vaculik said a ride-sharing service is part of the company's plans, Business Insider reported.