Flying cars are about to step out of fantasy into reality, with the new Airspeeder race series making its public debut at this week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom.
Billed as the evolution of motorsport, it merges an Formula One car with an electric racing drone, which can travel through the air at up to 200kmh. The Airspeeder mark IV octocopters — powered by a monster 500kW battery — offer a power-to-weight ratio superior to an F-18 fighter jet.
The Airspeeder has been developed by Alauda Racing, an Australian start-up company that has a long-term ambition to use its technology to develop a world-beating flying sports car for sale to the public.
While the Goodwood spectators are promised a display and race around an aerial track, presumably via a remote control, Alauda Racing plans to host the first human-manned demonstrations of the new Mk IV race speeder in the Mojave Desert in November.
The idea is for the first Airspeeder World Championship — featuring five teams and 10 pilots — to take off in 2020 with each grand prix taking place at a different motorsport venue around the world. The pilots will compete in timed trials and head-to-head races 20m above the ground.
Also making its debut at Goodwood, is Kiwi drift star ‘‘Mad’’ Mike Whiddett in his Lamborghini Huracan, which he transformed from a supercar into a drift demon in just four weeks.
Being presented with the keys to the 5.2L naturally-aspirated V12, 580hp, 520Nm beast, came about after a chance conversation with the son of Goodwood’s founder, Lord March, at a dinner at last year’s festival. Charlie, or Lord Settrington, as he’s formally known, asked Whiddett what was next for him and the New Zealander replied that he wanted to build the world’s ‘‘craziest drift supercar’’. The CEO of Lamborghini, who was also a guest that night, was shoulder tapped and Whiddett’s dream became a reality.
- by Catherine Pattison
Photos: Supplied
