Adelaide-based Alauda Aeronautics’ Airspeeder Mk3 electric aircraft has performed its first unmanned flight at an “undisclosed test location” in the deserts of South Australia. The company claims the Airspeeder Mk3 to be the “world’s first racing car”, with the design inspired by the racing cars of the ’50s. Alauda is actually proposing a new racing series named ‘Airspeeder EXA Series’, which it is planning to host at three international locations later this year.
For 2021, the plan is that the participants will remotely pilot these eVTOL aircrafts on Augmented Reality-enabled sky-tracks, while the audiences will watch the races on streaming platforms. Alauda says that there’ll be four teams with two remote pilots per team. Human piloted races are planned for 2022 with an updated version named Mk4.
Built mostly of carbon fibre, the aircraft is claimed to weigh just 130 kg (287 lbs) without the pilot and is claimed to be capable of lifting over 80 kg (176+ lbs). Its maximum power is claimed to be 320 kW (435 metric hp). And yes, the Airspeeder Mk3 has an official 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time too, which is 2.8 seconds. The maximum altitude it can climb to is 500 meters. The battery packs are swappable during pitstops. More information here.
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