First test-flights will take place this year.
A first Grand Prix season will follow next year – details to come soon.
Alauda is the Australian-based builder of the Airspeeder, the flying race car.
We’d seen images and video of the Airspeeder back in 2018. At the time, the idea of flying race cars, never mind flying cars, seemed a little ludicrous. It’s amazing what two years can do… Following a successful round of investments in the company, Alauda is posed to begin maned test-runs of the Airspeeder ahead of starting a racing series featuring these flying cars.
It might all still seem like a pipe dream, however, and as we know, racing is the best way to fast-forward development and various technologies. Once the restrictions linked to the global health crisis are lifted, testing will begin. Numerous companies around the globe have demonstrated interest in the vehicle, an eVTOL (Electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing), as its applications could very well represent a giant leap forward in mobility.
The Airspeeder itself is a combination of a “golden-era” F1 racing car design with a drone. It is powered by a 500 kW battery and is capable of speeds of 200km/h. It measures just over 4 meters in length and delivers a better power-to-weight ratio than an F1 car. The batteries themselves last 15 minutes and unlike current cars, the pack is interchangeable thus can be quickly replaced by a fully charged unit.
The racing series is set to being operations in 2021 and will feature 5 teams and 10 pilots. We’re very curious, as you must be, about how this racing series will be organized. We don’t think that flying cars for purchase by the public will be available anytime soon however the series may very well be the sport for this century.
Alauda Airspeeder | Photo: Alauda
