Alauda Aeronautics, the Australian electric aviation company behind the development of eVTOLs for the Airspeeder racing league, has announced the latest iteration of its flying car – the Mk4. This marks the first time Airspeeder has created an eVTOL specifically for crewed racing flights as the league moves towards enabling racers to compete from the tracks in the skies.
Airspeeder is an electric vertical takeoff and landing racing league headquartered in London, and the league is a subsidiary of Alauda Aeronautics. The Australian company designs, engineers, and builds the league’s eVTOL racing aircraft called “Airspeeders.”
Since its launch, Airspeeder has been assembling teams of racers to compete in development races, working towards a full global competition called the EXA Series. In March 2022, the series announced former Formula E driver Bruno Senna as an early eVTOL racing pilot and an ambassador to the league.
Alauda Aeronautics has spent hours testing its Airspeeder eVTOLs remotely piloted using virtual cockpits on the ground. Last fall, Airspeeder showcased its first-ever EXA racing event, where pilots Zephatiali Walsh and Fabio Tishcler raced their Mk3 Airspeeder eVTOLs around a one-kilometer-long digital sky-track circuit in Australia. However, those pilots competed remotely from the ground.
Today, the public got its first glimpse of the upcoming crew-friendly Mk4 eVTOL in the UK in the form of renderings from Alauda Aeronautics. As the first-ever eVTOL racing league, Airspeeder continues to deliver a running record of firsts with the Mk4. This eVTOL should be the first Airspeeder design that will actually be manually operated by pilots from the air rather than remotely. Additionally, the MK4 is the first Airspeeder utilizing hydrogen technology, as previous models were powered by swappable battery packs.
The core of this technology is a Thunderstrike Hydrogen Turbogenerator, which Airspeeder says can offer 300 kilometers (188 miles) of range. Its 1,000 kW (1,340 hp) turbogenerator powers the entire racing eVTOL, including the aircraft’s “Thunderstrike” motor that incorporates a unique 3D-printed combustor developed for rocket engines. It helps keep the hydrogen flame temperature low while reducing nitrous oxide emissions.
The Mk4 is equipped with covers to its gimballed rotors, allowing for better maneuverability but less of a risk of injury. Alauda Aeronautics is calling the upcoming Mk4 the “world’s fastest eVTOL,” capable of racing to a top speed of 225 mph (360 km/h) in just 30 seconds from a standing start.
See also: Alef Aeronautics eVTOL startup attracts early Tesla investor
Flight testing with the Mk4 is already underway in South Australia, with the series’ first crewed races expected sometime in 2024. The public debut of the crewed racing eVTOL will be at Southstart Innovation Festival on March 7 in Adelaide. Alauda Aeronautics CEO Matt Pearson expressed his excitement for the project, saying, “We, and the world, are ready for crewed flying car racing…Now is the time for the world’s most progressive, innovative and ambitious automotive brands, OEM manufacturers and motorsport teams to be part of a truly revolutionary new motorsport.”
