Remember Airspeeder, the "radical new airborne motorsport for the 21st century" which we reported on last year? Featuring 120mph electric octocopters with better power-to-weight ratios than F-18 fighter jets, the series promised "the format of Formula E, the thrills of air racing and the glamour of F1" with the end goal of a production machine being made available for the public to buy. An enticing combination if ever there was one.
A planned debut at last summer's Goodwood Festival of Speed had to be postponed when one of the craft - which will be manned in future but remain remote-controlled for now - struggled with the whole airborne bit of the equation during a private preview. Now, though, Airspeeder is back, having taken what its organisers describe as a "significant step" towards becoming reality.
Following an initial funding round, the electric flying car company behind the venture, Alauda, claims to have secured a "seven-figure investment". This will not only allow it to begin manned test-flights in the near future - coronavirus restrictions notwithstanding - but also to hasten the arrival of the first actual races.
With Forbes reporting that commercial entities - including Hyundai, Porsche, Boeing and Uber - have invested as much as $2 billion into the development of "at least 135 different proposed electric- or hybrid/electric-powered aircraft", it isn't hard to see how racing could play a role. Throw in the fact that the market for such vehicles is predicted to be worth up to $3 trillion in the next two decades, and Alauda's eagerness to be the first to get its foot in the door becomes more understandable still.
The Airspeeders themselves are powered by interchangeable 500kWh battery packs allowing four 32hp motors (powering a pair of rotors a piece) to accelerate the 250kg machines up to speeds of 124mph. There's no word on the exact format of the racing, or how the safety of competitors and spectators alike will be ensured, but with testing underway at a purpose-built facility in Australia, we'd expect answers to those questions can't be far away.
Andrea Gardiner, co-founder of Airspeeder sponsor Jelix Ventures, said of the series: "Airspeeder's founder, Matt Pearson, has an inspired vision of the future of 'clean-air' mobility. We are impressed with the early success of his route to early commercialisation through the creation of a flying car racing league. There is a clear global market for Airspeeder and Alauda, and the founder has an outstanding track record as a successful entrepreneur."
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