A new racing series that hopes to mirror the pod racing from Star Wars has introduced its first electric flying race car.
Airspeeder has revealed the Mk3, which will establish the basis of the company’s maiden season this year. The vehicles, which will race at speeds in excess of 120 km/h in its first year, will be remotely operated by pilots on the ground.
The company hopes to develop the Mk3 into a manned racing craft for the 2022 season. Company founder Matt Pearson has earlier talked about his desire for Airspeeder to turn into a series similar to the pod racing shown in Star Wars: A Phantom Menace.
The Mk3 has been in the pipeline for three years. Airspeeder wants to “create a sport that will accelerate a new clean-air aerial mobility revolution”. Over 10 identical racing vehicles will be produced and provided to teams in 2021.
Well known manufacturers are involved in developing and manufacturing the race car, including McLaren, Boeing, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, and Brabham.
More information about the Airspeeder Mk3 racing series will be revealed in the coming month. A behind-closed-doors test will occur in Australia before an international calendar of events is put together.
The series does not just want to put on races for the sake of competition. Airspeeder says the races of this year will help shape the development of the next iteration of a manned race vehicle, and also play an important role in hastening the arrival of eVTOL (electrical vertical takeoff and landing) technologies which vows to revolutionize urban passenger mobility, logistics, and even remote medical transport.
