Global electric flying car Grand Prix series, with serious backers, to kick off shortly

The world’s first flying car grand prix will launch this year, driven by an SA company testing the airspeeders in the outback.

A world-first, global three race series of electric-powered “flying car” Grand Prix will kick off in a yet-to-be disclosed location later this year, after extensive testing in the South Australian outback.

Backed by international heavyweights such as luxury Swiss watch firm IWC Schaffhausen, global logistics firm DHL, and cloud computing outfit Acronis, the Airspeeder EXA Series will involve pilots controlling the Alauda Aeronautics Mk3 EXA race-craft at speeds of more than 190km/h.

Races will be held in three locations around the globe later this year, with the events streamed to a global audience.

The Alauda Aeronautics Mk3 EXA race-craft at a secret testing location in South Australia. Picture: Supplied

The races will take place on an “augmented reality” course, which overlays a virtual environment on the physical world through the use of simulator technology.

The companies behind the project, Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics, were both founded by Adelaide-based Matt Pearson, who is also a founder of nanosatellite company Fleet Space Technologies.

Mr Pearson, who has been working on the project since 2019, said he brought together technical experts, engineers and designers from Formula 1, high-performance automotive and aviation backgrounds, including people from McLaren, Brabham, Rolls Royce and Boeing, to bring the Mk3 to life.

The Alauda team during testing. Picture: Supplied

Judith Griggs, the former chief executive of Australian Grand Prix Corporation, is on board, leading rights management for the series in Australia, and Airspeeder is aiming to replicate the sponsorship and audience-driven business models of other motorsports such as Formula 1.

“Nothing drives innovation like racing,’’ Mr Pearson said.

“The world is ready for advanced air mobility and we are proud to make history by introducing the world’s first racing series for flying electric cars.

“Airspeeder and EXA represent the future of motorsport and a compelling and exhilarating showcase of the potential of electric flying cars as this generation’s defining mobility revolution.”

The Mk3 has a greater thrust to weight ratio than an F15 fighter jet, Airspeeder says, and will pull more than 5 Gs around hairpin turns on the circuits.

“The Alauda Airspeeder Mk3 draws its design inspiration from the classic forms of racing cars from the 1950s and 60s,’’ the company said.

“Indeed, Head of Design, Felix Pierron’s vision melds F1 car dynamics with the profile of a fighter jet and function of helicopter.

“The result is a performance eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) machine that promises to enthuse audiences across the globe in the limitless potential of this defining new advanced-air mobility technology.’’

The ambition is to have human pilots in the craft during 2022. Picture: Supplied

Up to four teams, each with two remote pilots, drawn from aviation, racing and eSports backgrounds, will take part in the first Grand Prix series.

“They will race ‘blade-to-blade’ over locations inaccessible to traditional motorsport,’’ Airspeeder said.

“Audiences will tune-in through global streams available on-demand. This approach reflects the changing requirements of global audiences, in particular a generation native to streaming and the ability to interact directly with the content generators they follow.’’

Ten Mk3s are currently being built for the series in the Adelaide headquarters of Alauda Aeronautics.

A pre-season “drag-race” style competition will soon be announced, the company said, drawing pilots from within Alauda.

“These final test events will serve as an important technical and strategic shakedown before external teams are invited to prove their competitive edge against the creators of the sport,’’ Airspeeder said.

The Mk3 has been tested in undisclosed locations in the South Australian outback, under observation by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Airspeeder said.

“Throughout the development process, the Alauda team has worked with the regulator to ensure compliance to all required procedures while developing robust safety protocols.

“The successful execution of these flights means that uncrewed electric flying car Grand Prix will take place in 2021 at three soon-to-be-revealed international locations.’’

Airspeeder hopes to transition to human-piloted races by 2022.