Composites One
Published

Alauda Aeronautics debuts crewed flying race car

In a fusion of UAM and motorsport, the composite Airspeeder Mk4 is designed to set the bar for performance and technology for the Airspeeder Racing Championship in 2024.  

Share

The Airspeeder Mk4. See a video of the reveal. Photo Credit, all images: Alauda Aerospace

Aerospace company Alauda Aeronautics (Adelaide, South Australia) has announced development of the Airspeeder Mk4, built to be the world’s fastest hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flying race car. Capable of reaching a top speed of 360 kilometers per hour (225 miles per hour) in just 30 seconds from a standing start, it is designed to set the bar for performance and technology in the new sport of piloted Airspeeder racing.

The crewed flying car, comprising a carbon fiber monocoque, is designed for maximum agility at high speeds and low altitudes. It features a sophisticated electric propulsion system, advanced aerodynamics and a takeoff weight (MTOW) of just 950 kilograms. The Airspeeder Mk4 is also said to be highly efficient, with a projected range of 300 kilometers (188 miles) while producing near-zero emissions. 

“We, and the world, are ready for crewed flying car racing,” Matt Pearson, CEO, Alauda Aeronautics, says. “We have built the vehicles, developed the sport, secured the venues, attracted the sponsors and technical partners. 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 revolutionary new motorsport. In unveiling the crewed Airspeeder Mk4 we show the vehicles that will battle it out in blade-to-blade racing crewed by the most highly-skilled pilots in their fields.”

The Airspeeder Mk4 is powered by a 1,000-kilowatt (1,340-horsepower) turbogenerator that feeds power to the batteries and motors. Specifically designed for use in eVTOLs, the technology enables green hydrogen to be used as fuel, providing safe, reliable and sustainable power over long distances and flight times. In addition, Alauda Aeronautics’ demonstrator “Thunderstrike” engine incorporates a combustor made using 3D printing techniques developed in the space industry for rocket engines. The combustor’s design keeps the hydrogen flame temperature relatively low, reducing nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions.

Unique to the vehicle is its gimballed thrust system, which uses an artificial intelligence (AI) flight controller to individually adjust four rotor pairs mounted on lightweight, 3D-printed gimbals. Ultimately, this makes the Mk4 handle “less like a multicopter and more like a jet fighter or Formula 1 racing car.”

Close-up view of the Airspeeder Mk4 cockpit.

Close-up view of the cockpit.

Alauda Aerospace plans to begin flight testing the Mk4 chassis and powertrain, including the first crewed flights of the airframe, in the first quarter of 2023. The aircraft will be ready to take the start line at the Airspeeder Racing Championship in 2024.

The company is already looking beyond racing to a world where private flying cars are a daily reality, and a viable means of urban transport. Its team of engineers and designers, drawn from companies including Airbus, Boeing, Ferrari, MagniX and McLaren, are confident its technologies could make air travel faster, more efficient, more environmentally friendly and more accessible than ever before.

“You will see these technologies on the racetrack. However, eVTOLs are already a trillion-dollar industry and we see a very substantial market for private flying cars emerging in the near future,” Pearson says. “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. 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 enormous. It’s a very exciting time.”

Ad showing Janicki CNC Mill machining part in tool
Composites One
Wickert Hydraulic Presses
Fire Retardant Epoxies
Vacuum and Controlled Atmosphere furnaces
Park Aerospace Corp.
Nanoparticles filled epoxy adhesives
Visual of lab with a yellow line
Alpha’s Premier ESR®
IRIS Ai-enabled Camera
Airtech
HEATCON Composite Systems

Related Content

Automation

ASCEND program update: Designing next-gen, high-rate auto and aerospace composites

GKN Aerospace, McLaren Automotive and U.K.-based partners share goals and progress aiming at high-rate, Industry 4.0-enabled, sustainable materials and processes.

Read More
Carbon Fibers

Jeep all-composite roof receivers achieve steel performance at low mass

Ultrashort carbon fiber/PPA replaces steel on rooftop brackets to hold Jeep soft tops, hardtops.

Read More
Automotive

Novel dry tape for liquid molded composites

MTorres seeks to enable next-gen aircraft and open new markets for composites with low-cost, high-permeability tapes and versatile, high-speed production lines.

Read More
Automotive

Composites end markets: Automotive (2024)

Recent trends in automotive composites include new materials and developments for battery electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell technologies, and recycled and bio-based materials.

Read More

Read Next

Automotive

Formula 1 team optimizes car design-to-build process

FEA-to-CAD translation tool opens doors to cross-department communication and frees up time for R&D and test-piece manufacture.

Read More
Automotive

Evolution of the one-piece, all-composite Funny Car body

Large, one-piece drag racing vehicle bodies require extreme lightweighting and precise layup skills. Specialist MTCcorp shares how its John Force Racing Funny Cars have evolved over the past 25 years.

Read More
Machining/Drilling

CFRP planing head: 50% less mass, 1.5 times faster rotation

Novel, modular design minimizes weight for high-precision cutting tools with faster production speeds.  

Read More
Composites One