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Lazareth LMV 496 La Moto Volante: What the Flying Motorcycle Can—and Cannot—Do

The LMV 496 is an experimental road-and-flight concept, but its reported road approval does not mean it is approved to fly or currently for sale.
Entry223 Date Time3 min MechanicCarCody Team
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The Lazareth LMV 496 is a road-and-flight experimental vehicle, not a flight-certified motorcycle. Its electric drive was described by creator Ludovic Lazareth as approved for road use, while its turbine-powered flight mode was not approved. The “moto volante” label describes its unusual dual-mode design; it does not establish that the vehicle is an airworthy consumer product or currently available to buy.

What is the Lazareth LMV 496?

The LMV 496, also called La Moto Volante, is a four-wheel vehicle designed to operate on roads using electric propulsion and to lift off using turbines. Lazareth presents it as an experimental combination of those two modes, rather than a conventional motorcycle with a routinely usable aircraft mode. Lazareth’s official LMV 496 page describes the project and its design.

How does its road-and-flight design work?

Road mode

For road operation, the vehicle uses electric propulsion and a four-wheel layout derived from Lazareth’s LM 847 concept. In an interview with AXA Passion, Lazareth said it was registered and approved for road use in electric mode. That statement concerns road use, not permission to fly.

Flight mode

Lazareth says the four wheels pivot horizontally to expose the turbines intended to provide lift and propulsion. The maker also describes a composite dummy-engine form that conceals the kerosene tank. Lazareth credits NTN-SNR with combining a wheel bearing and turbine in one hub, and names Jet Cat as the miniaturized turbine supplier. These are the manufacturer’s descriptions of the design, not independent verification of its operating performance.

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Is the Lazareth LMV 496 homologated or flight-approved?

In an AXA Passion interview, creator Ludovic Lazareth said the LMV 496 was approved for road use in electric mode but not approved for flight. He said obtaining flight approval was too complicated and expensive. This is the clearest reported distinction between its road and flight status, but the interview is not a regulator record. Current flight certification status has not been established.

So, “homologated” needs a mode attached: Lazareth described road approval in electric mode, not flight approval. The vehicle should not be presented as a flight-certified or generally airworthy consumer vehicle.

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What performance figures have been reported?

Figure What the source says How to read it
About 10 minutes of flight endurance Lazareth’s undated official project page describes approximate endurance from the kerosene tank. Manufacturer-stated estimate, not an independently verified flight-test result. The page does not state when the estimate was set.
50 metres altitude; 60 km/h flight speed Moto-Net attributed these figures to Cédric Collao, Lazareth’s engineering-office manager, in its January 2020 report. Historical reported specifications, not independently verified performance. Lazareth’s project page does not publish flight speed or altitude.

The figures do not establish repeatable operating capability or current performance. Moto-Net’s January 2020 report also recounted that an early public flight attempt ended prematurely after a turbine was damaged in rainy, cold weather; its February 2019 coverage had already reported a failed first attempt. The development history was therefore not a sequence of uniformly successful flights.

Was the LMV 496 a production flying motorcycle?

Moto-Net reported in January 2020 that five examples were planned at a proposed price of €496,000 each. Those are historical reported production and price claims, not evidence of a current order book, current price, or present availability.

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Lazareth’s later account gives important context. In the AXA Passion interview, he described the LMV 496 as R&D and said: “C’était surtout de la R&D. J’ai eu l’idée et l’envie de la construire, mais n’avais pas pour projet de la répliquer et de la vendre.” He was saying that he had wanted to build the concept, but had not planned to reproduce and sell it. That makes “production flying motorcycle” an unsafe description without additional current confirmation.

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What “the flying motorcycle is here” really means

The LMV 496 is real as a built experimental road-and-flight concept, and its design was intended to transition between electric road operation and turbine-powered flight. But its maker’s reported road approval does not extend to flight; the available interview says flight approval had not been obtained. Historical performance and sales reports should likewise be read as attributed claims from their publication dates, not proof of a certified aircraft or a vehicle currently offered for sale.

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