Airspeeder Mk4 is a manned VTOL flying race car

Is this it? Are we in the future already? This is the Airspeeder Mk4 by Alauda Aeronautics and it’s a VTOL flying race car. It can hit a top speed of 360 km/h in just 30 seconds from a standing start.

While the Mk3 version of this vehicle was remotely-piloted, the Airspeeder Mk4 is designed to be crewed, which means it will have a driver, or perhaps the right term should be pilot.

It’s powered by what they call a “Thunderstrike Hydrogen Turbogenerator”, which uses hydrogen as a fuel to generate electricity to feed the batteries and motors. The 1,340 hp generator burns the hydrogen. Range is said to be over 300 km, and the Mk4 is claimed to have a take-off weight of 950 kg.

The pilot controls the Mk4 with the aid of a flight controlled which individually adjusts four rotor pairs in a gimballed thrust system. Alauda says it handles less like a multicopter and more like a jet fighter or F1 car.

“eVTOLs are already a trillion-dollar industry and we see a very substantial market for private flying cars emerging in the near future. In conventional aerospace, there are about as many private jets as there are commercial jets in operation. We believe it could be the same with flying cars one day, with a roughly similar number of commercial taxis and private cars initially,” says Matt Pearson, CEO, Alauda Aeronautics.

“Once we can sell you a flying car for the same price as a Tesla, you’ll quickly see the balance shift. Today, private cars outnumber taxis by about 300 to one, so the potential for people to own and drive their own flying car one day is absolutely enormous. It’s a very exciting time,” he adds.