The ambition wrapped up in this project is breathtaking. It's not an easily-registered three-wheeler, it's a four-seat car the size of an SUV, capable of traveling at highway speeds. It'll look completely ridiculous doing so, but it's capable.

Not only does it convert to an eVTOL aircraft automagically, at the touch of a button, it's a transitioning eVTOL aircraft with tilt-capable propellers and wide wings for cruising, offering a crazy 250-mile (400-km) flight range at speeds up to 150 mph (240 km/h), thanks to a range-extended hybrid powertrain. Oh, and it glides so well as a winged aircraft that you can take off and land on a runway – even a short runway – if you've got one handy.

It's bonkers. It's hubristic lunacy. It's impossible. It's also already prototyped.

Aska hasn't shown any footage yet, but the company says it's already "conducting flight testing," after receiving a Certificate of Authorization and Special Airworthiness Certification from the FAA. As we pointed out a few weeks ago, this is not a full type certificate allowing the commercial sale of this aircraft, it's more of a limited, one-off green light to fly the prototype.

And now the company's announced it's "the world's first flying car to receive authorization to drive on public roads from the United States (US) Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)."

Aska says its prototype A5 has "successfully conducted more than 300 miles [480 km] of road testing around Silicon Valley with a DMV number plate."

"Being the first electric flying car developer to be successfully conducting driving tests on local roads in California validates our efforts to develop an eVTOL that is roadable and with an emphasis on safety," says Maki Kaplinsky, Chair & COO/Cofounder, in a press release.