The Transition
The Transition in flight. Terrafugia

German company Terrafugia is preparing to put its flying car, the Transition roadable aircraft, on the market next year with a price tag of $279,000.

The prototype has been approved by the Federal Aviation Authority and must take off from a designated airport.

A pilot of one of our vehicles -- once issued a use permit -- can just drive up, swipe through the gate, taxi, and take off, Carl Dietrich, chief executive officer and chief technology officer at Terrafugia, told Bloomberg News. You don't even have to talk to anyone.

Terrafugia advertises on its website that a person can be certified to fly the Transition with as little as 20 hours of flight time after taking a Transition-specific course.

The Transition has retractable wings, which allows it to be taken out on the road. It requires at least 1,700 feet of runway in order to take off.

It's not something where you can see some traffic ahead and hit the button and hop right over it, Dietrich told Bloomberg.

In the air, it can cruise at 105 miles per hour with a maximum speed of 115 miles per hour. On the road, it can go about 35 miles per hour.

There is enough room for two passengers, one of them the pilot, and the aircraft can bear up to 460 pounds of added weight.

The aircraft has a 23-gallon tank and gets 20 miles per gallon in the air, and 35 miles per gallon on the road, Bloomberg reported. It is more efficient at cruising speeds, burning five gallons per hour, which gives it a maximum range of 490 miles.

Terrafugia is marketing the aircraft to licensed pilots before it tries to expand into a broader consumer market. In anticipation of the vehicle's anticipated release next year, the company has already received 100 $10,000 deposits.

Watch the flying car in action below: