Last week, aerospace company Alauda Aeronautics revealed the first crewed version of its flying race car, the Airspeeder Mk4. The hydrogen electric vertical take-off and landing (H2eVTOL) aircraft is labeled the fastest of its kind and can reach up to 225 miles per hour in 30 seconds.
The near-zero emission Mk4 features a 1,340 horsepower turbogenerator, a take-off weight of about 2,094 pounds and can travel a projected range of approximately 188 miles.
As the eVTOL evolves, Australia-based Alauda Aeronautics sees its flying race cars becoming an electric flying vehicle racing competition called the EXA Series.
Called “the Formula 1 of the skies,” Airspeeder, an Alauda Aeronautics entity headquartered in London, plans to showcase pilots navigating electronically governed tracks in the sky across oceans, deserts, snow and canyon landscapes.
Airspeeder completed its first eVTOL Airspeeder EXA race in October 2022, where two pilots remotely operated the eVTOLs. Airspeeder said the race was a feeder series for fully-crewed Grand Prix races that the entity plans to start in 2024.
Airspeeder also announced a two-year broadcast content deal with Fox Sports Australia in January. Per the agreement, Fox Sports will broadcast four content series, two of which will discuss the topics of finding pilots and building flying cars.
After the unveiling of Mk4, Alauda Aeronautics CEO Matt Pearson explained that the company has done its part with development and attraction and called on other companies to join the bandwagon.
“Now is the time for the world’s most progressive, innovative and ambitious automotive brands, [OEMs] and motorsport teams to be part of a truly revolutionary new sport,” Pearson said.
