- The manufacturer Lazareth, based in Annecy, invented a flying electric motorcycle capable of both riding on the road and flying in the air, a great world first.
- By pressing a button when stopped, the four wheels are folded outwards and the motorcycle is transformed into a drone with a flight autonomy of ten minutes.
- Only five copies are currently available for order for the sum of 496,000 euros.
In Blade Runner , released in 1982, Ridley Scott imagined funny flying cars capable of traveling on the road and taking off vertically, in Los Angeles of 2019. A true visionary ... From science fiction to reality, there was only one step that Lazareth managed to take. Based in Annecy (Haute-Savoie), this car and motorcycle manufacturer specializing in innovative vehicle prototypes has precisely designed in 2019 a model that the American director would not have denied: the LMV 496.
This is nothing more than the first “real” flying motorcycle in history. Why "real"? "We are the only ones in the world to create a machine that can roll and fly away", explains the founder of the company Ludovic Lazareth, mechanical engineer, very proud of this "technological breakthrough". The latter is thus keen to stand out from other competing machines recently released and presented - improperly according to him - as flying motorcycles. "They are only drones," he said.
Press a button to switch to flight mode
Nothing to do with the Lazareth LMV 496, which is a real two-in-one vehicle. "It is an electric motorcycle with four pendulum wheels approved for riding on the road, which turns into a drone by moving the wheels and spreading the arms," said the thinking head of the project. The LMV 496 can therefore travel on the road like any motorcycle thanks to its electric motor having a hundred kilometers of autonomy. To take off, it then suffices to "stop on flat ground and press a button so that it switches to flight mode and turns into a drone," says Ludovic Lazareth.
The four wheels, equipped with turbines that can generate a power of 1,300 horsepower, will then fold out and go horizontal while a heat engine powers the turbines in order to take off and fly. "The motorcycle is very light (140 kg) and carries around 50 liters of kerosene, which gives it an autonomy of ten minutes," explains the engineer. A flight time certainly limited but which could increase in the future.
Approved for the road but not yet in the air
The Lazareth LMV 496 has indeed undergone constant improvements since the first version unveiled at the beginning of 2019. And the tests have multiplied during a year of hard work, with "a group of five people who worked full time on it. " First victory: homologation for road driving.
Unfortunately, regrets Ludovic Lazareth, “the DGAC (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has not yet given us the right to use it as a flying machine. The tests can only be done in captivity, in a closed sphere. Until the precious aerial certification is obtained, the manufacturer will continue its tests to stabilize the machine.
Five copies available at a price of 496,000 euros
For the moment, five copies of the LMV 496 have been built and are available for pre-order, opened last October. To acquire the car, you must have a motorcycle license (A) and a ULM pilot license. But the first condition is to have a well-stocked bank account, each model being sold at a price of 496,000 euros! Not really for all budgets so ...
However, that did not stop an American from ordering his first flying motorcycle. And for Ludovic Lazareth, the main thing is elsewhere. He highlights his “great pride” in being a pioneer. "We are among the five or six companies in the world to offer flying machines," he says with satisfaction. The interest for us is to invent a self-stabilized machine with which everyone can fly over time. "
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