A new racing series which hopes to emulate the pod racing from Star Wars has launched its first electric flying race car.
Airspeeder has unveiled the Mk3, which will form the basis of the company's maiden season in 2021. The vehicles, which will race at speeds in excess of 120 km/h in its first year, will be remotely controlled by pilots on the ground.
Airspeeder hopes to develop the Mk3 into a manned racing craft for the 2022 season. Company founder Matt Pearson has previously stated his desire for Airspeeder to turn into a series similar to the pod racing featured in Star Wars: A Phantom Menace.
The Mk3 has been in the pipeline for three years. Airspeeder aims to "create a sport that will accelerate a new clean-air aerial mobility revolution". More than 10 identical racing vehicles will be produced and supplied to teams in 2021.
A group of big name manufacturers are involved in developing and manufacturing the vehicle, including McLaren, Boeing, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Brabham.
Details of the Airspeeder Mk3 racing series will be revealed in the coming month. A behind-closed-doors test will take place in Australia before an international calendar of events is put together.
The series does not simply want to put on races for the sake of competition. Airspeeder says the 2021 races will help shape the development of the next iteration of manned race vehicle, and also play "a vital role in hastening the arrival of eVTOL (electrical vertical takeoff and landing) technologies which promise to revolutionise urban passenger mobility, logistics and even remote medical transport".