Alauda has unveiled the world’s first fully functioning flying electric racing car, the Airspeeder Mk3.
The Mk3 is a full-sized remotely operated electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle that will compete in an upcoming remotely piloted Airspeeder racing series that will stand as a technical testbed and feeder series to a manned racing series in 2022.
The MK3 powertrain represents a significant upgrade on the Mk2 proof of concept vehicle, with power increased by 95% with only a 50% increase in weight that will allow the vehicle to reach a speed of over 120 km/h.
A full grid of Mk3 electric flying race-craft is currently being manufactured at Airspeeder and Alauda’s technical HQ in Adelaide, South Australia. More than 10 identical racing vehicles will be produced and supplied to teams in 2021.
The Airspeeder Mk3 will first take part in behind-closed-doors pre-season tests in Australia before the start of an international racing calendar.
In a similar way to what happens in the car racing world, this competition will also play a vital role in hastening the arrival of eVTOL technologies, which promise to revolutionise urban passenger mobility, logistics and even remote medical transport.
Both the remotely piloted Mk3 programme and manned Airspeeder Mk4 flying cars will provide a safe environment from where key innovations around safety, noise and batteries can be refined and fed into the wider development of an industry predicted by Morgan Stanley to be worth $1.5 trillion by 2050.
The aircraft will have an impressive array of safety features such as LiDAR and Radar collision avoidance systems that create a ‘virtual forcefield’ around the craft to ensure close but ultimately safe racing. Also, the Mk3 will be equipped with a carbon fibre frame and fuselage chosen for its strength, stiffness and lightweight properties, which ensures manoeuvrability, performance and efficiency. Ultimately, it will add a vital mechanical layer of safety.
The Mk3 speeders are laid out in an ‘octocopter X formation’. This provides significant advantages to pilots in terms of manoeuvrability and stability. When racing the pilot will be able to make the same sharp hairpin style turns as a Formula 1 car but with the added third dimension of being able to move vertically.
The company knows that its product will be a game changer for the future of transportation, according to Matthew Pearson, Founder, Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics
“The unveiling of the world’s first full-sized electric flying racing car is a landmark moment in the dawn of a new mobility revolution,” he said. “It is competition that drives progress, and our racing series is hastening the arrival of technology that will transform clean-air passenger transport, logistics and even advanced air mobility for