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Airspeeder Flying Car Completes 250th Test Flight, Get Ready for Its Racing Series

The World is closing in on the next big thing in motorsport, which will take to the skies. While racing airplanes is nothing new, this time the racing crafts are called flying electric cars, and there will be a racing series dedicated to them. This is not news to you, dear reader, but what is new is the fact that they have concluded 250 test flights with their flying electric cars.
Alauda Airspeeder Mk3 8 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by Alauda Aeronautics
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It all started in 2016, back in Australia, where all the test flights were completed by the staff of Alauda Aeronautics. This is an important milestone in the development of global eVTOL aircraft. According to predictions made by Morgan Stanley, the mobility industry that involves these electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles will be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040.

With 250 test flights concluded, the company is moving on to the next phase of the project, which will involve organizing a racing series with these flying electric cars that they call Airspeeders.

While they do not look like the ones from Star Wars, and not just because of copyright reasons, their names do make us think of the creations of the allegedly fictional Incom Corporation.

The folks over at Alauda, who will manufacture the Airspeeders, have partnered with Telstra Purple, along with Amazon Web Services, to enable remote 5G connectivity solutions that will allow these vehicles to race safely, while also broadcasting every moment to a global audience in real-time. It sounds like the best of both worlds, if you ask us.

The craft comes with a total output of 320 kW, and it can sprint from a standstill to 62 mph (100 kph) in just 2.8 seconds. It weighs just 287 lbs (ca. 130 kg) without any crew, but it can lift more than half of its weight, so people who are moderately fit might eventually get to fly these once they are trained to do so.

However, the racing series in question is uncrewed, so do not expect to have anyone to cheer up in a cockpit, or not at first. The series will test crewed races as well, which should be exciting.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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