Carplane News...
A number of "carplanes" have recently appeared on the market or will be appearing soon. The purpose of this site is to contrast and compare these vehicles and to provide the latest information on each.  It is an unbiased site that is not funded by any of the manufacturers.
Edited by Jeffrey W. Buckholz, PhD, P.E., PTOE

SkyRunner
$230,000 and now available, but with up to a 6 month waiting time.  It is a two-seat dune buggy that flies as a powered parachute, with a quoted max ground speed of 75 mph and with a cruise airspeed of 45 mph.  The manufacturer states that it "was not initially a road-able product although most states will allow it with the appropriate DOT accessories".  Located in Louisiana.  Here's a video

Aeromobile 4.0
$1.7 MILLION dollars and the estimated delivery date has been pushed back AGAIN to the start of 2023.   Its a 2-seat car on the ground and an airplane requiring a sports pilot license in the air.  The wings swing in and out from behind the cabin in less than a minute.  Maximum road speed of 96 mph with and a maximum air speed of 160 mph.   They are also planning a 4-seat model to be offered in 2025.  Located in Slovakia.

Terrafugia Transition
They were purchased by a Chinese firm a few years ago and then everything seemed to stop.  Their website says that you can reserve a vehicle but if you hit the RESERVE button, nothing happens.  They were very active and vocal at one time and they still have a website but its not very functional and everything has gone kind of silent.  At one time they were kicking around a price of around $400,000 but that has disappeared from their website.  More like a traditional car (even has airbags) and it flies like a small plane. Max quoted ground speed of 80 mph and a cruise air speed of 100 mph. Seats 2 people and you need a sports pilot license to fly it.  Located in Massachusetts.

Pal-V Liberty
The delivery date has slipped again to sometime in 2021 for Europe with the US sometime later.  The price is about $600,000 for the initial PIONEER version and $400,000 for the SPORT version.  A 2-seat enclosed "tilting" motorcycle that flies as a gyro-copter.  Maximum speeds of about 100 mph on the ground and 110 mph in the air.  Need a motorcycle endorsement to drive and a gyro-copter pilots license to fly.  Located in the Netherlands. 

Samson Motorworks Switchblade
$140,000 VFR to $156,000 IFR in kit form (includes builder assist). They are also talking about a fully built "limited edition" model that will sell for $500,000.  At one time they had a 2018 estimated delivery date and that sure didn't happen.  On their website it states: "We are now only months away from our first flight" and "We expect to have the Samson Builder Assist assembly line ready about 12 months from first flight."  Their website is pretty active with a lot of detailed information documenting their progress but we still only have a ground vehicle; it will be interesting to see if this little wedge really flies.  Its a 2-person enclosed, 3-wheel vehicle that, for driving, is viewed as a motorcycle in some states and an automobile in others.  A private pilot license is required to fly it.   Anticipated max speed on the ground is 110 mph with an anticipated cruise speed in the air of up to 200 mph.  Located in Oregon.

German Carplane
They just have a road vehicle right now.  The last entry on their website reads: "On Oct. 4 2019 CarplaneŽ completed final ground tests and will be ready for flight tests in December."  Well, that was a year and a half ago and no news.  Not surprising since developing a flying prototype is the first big hurdle that carplane dreamers face.  At one time they estimated $300,000 as a future purchase price.   Located in Germany.



The following vehicles have been removed from the list:

Plane Driven PD-3
$150,000 kit but things have gone cold.  They had taken parts of three JustAircraft models, including foldable wings, and added an automated ground unit that converted the aircraft into a motorcycle.  Handled 2 occupants on the ground and, if flown as a light-sport aircraft, 1 occupant in the air (or 2 in the air if flown as a regular general aviation aircraft). Was in Florida then moved to the state of Washington, USA 

ITEC Maverick
$94,000 but no longer available.  Its basically a 3 seat dune buggy that flies as a powered parachute.  Approved by FAA and Florida DMV.  Plenty fast on the ground (100 mph) but only 40 mph in the air.  Located in Florida, USA

US ARMY'S DARPA Program (ARES)
The vehicle will be unmanned and use ducted fan technology.  As this vehicle has developed, it has evolved from a carplane to a VTOL aircraft so it has been removed from the list of competitors.  Located in the USA.

The Cormorant (previously called the AirMule) Fancraft
This is currently an unmanned internal rotor (ducted fan) vehicle similar to the US Army's ARES so it is no longer on our list of competitors.  Designed for military and commercial use but, as they say: "For now, we believe that Fancraft will be operated by current helicopter operators: military, emergency responders, police, off-shore oil rig services, power companies, executive transportation services, etc.  In short, our long-term vision includes the 'flying car' concept but it will take some time to get there." Located in Israel.

Butterfly SkyCycle
Located in Texas and priced at $75,000 for the kit, it was a 1-seat motorcycle that flied as a gyro-copter.  However, it is no longer available.
This section directs you to all of the "real" players in the current carplane market.  I have only included vendors that have an actual vehicle under test and which seem to be making some progress in bringing a vehicle to market.  Keep in mind that the vehicle currently being tested may only be the ground portion of the carplane, but at least something tangible is there.  I have not included sites where the vehicle is purely conceptual in nature (see the LINKS section for some of those).
DARPA ARES (Transformer)
AirMule Fancraft
SKY CYCLE
PlaneDriven PD 3
ITEC Maverick