IWC and Airspeeder Team Up for World’s First Electric Flying Racecar Series

After revealing its Mk3 prototype at Goodwood Speed Week last year, Airspeeder announced back in May that it is preparing for its first uncrewed races. This will be the first event of its kind in which unmanned eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) will compete with each other.

Matt Pearson, who also manages the electric flying car maker Alauda, is the one in charge of the project. This new “engineering and timekeeping partnership” with IWC will speed up the Mk3’s production in preparation for the racing series, which will take place in the second half of this year.

As described by Airspeeder, the design of these vehicles takes inspiration from the ‘60s Grand Prix races. With a carbon-fiber aerodynamic body, they are basically a combination between an F1 car, a fighter jet, and a helicopter. Propelled by 320kW of power, they will race at a top speed of 200 kph (124 mph), remote-controlled by a human pilot.

Moreover, the Mk3s will be able to reach an altitude of 500 meters (1,640 ft) and have an impressive thrust-to-weight ratio that exceeds the F-15 Strike Eagle jet. For safe racing, the flying cars will also be equipped with LiDAR and Radar collision avoidance systems.

These uncrewed races will be used to put future technologies to the test. After it has been tested on the track, Airspeeder intends to use the Mk3 in crewed races, which are set to begin in 2022. The format will be similar to F1, with a pilot sitting in the cockpit in the same way a driver sits in an F1 car.