Like a movie from the future, drones have burst onto the racing market with first-rate electric technology. Airspeeder is the name of this new aerial motor sport, whose competition will begin in 2021 and is already holding spectacular exhibitions to finalize details of its launch.
The Australian-born company, Alauda Aeronautic, (founded in 2016) is already working on the latest prototypes of these new electric vehicles that would take the excitement and speed of racing to the skies.
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These electric vehicles are beginning to become very popular, especially in their autonomous version, destined to form part of a fleet of shared vehicles to travel in large cities.
The founders of the Airspeeder Alauda racing series say they will deliver a mix of science fiction and video games as part of the “most exciting and progressive motorsport on the planet.”
Origins of the project
Alauda Aeronautic created in 2018 its first model, the Mk 2, a single-seater vehicle built with the ability to fly at a maximum speed of 60 km / h. The last joining this collection was the Airspeeder Mk 4, a model with eight propellers, vertical take-off and landing, eight 45 kW tilting electric motors – one in each propeller – and a combined power of 488 horsepower, characteristics that would allow it reach a maximum speed of between 130 and 200 km per hour and a flight in a period of time between 13 and 15 minutes.
The “vehicles” are equipped with the latest augmented reality technologies that help the pilot to navigate the circuit that is built from virtual reality.
Alauda will provide all the hardware to each of the teams as a turnkey solution. However, the regulation will free up the possibility of adjusting some of the vehicle’s characteristics to different strategies.
Tournament details
The competition has a system of elimination rounds in which the drivers go head-to-head. Very quick pit stops are included to change the battery, which will give each of the confrontations an incentive of excitement and showiness.
The list of teams that have already taken an interest in the project will include names already recognized in conventional four-wheeler racing. In addition, companies from other sectors have also signed up, which have been attracted by the possibilities of both technological and sports development offered by this new competition.
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Although the COVID-19 health crisis has delayed all the company’s plans, it is expected that the first competitions would be held in 2021 and the venues chosen for the first events will be the Mojave Desert, in California, and the Australian city of Coober Pedy. These locations will add greater safety as they are routes without interference.
