ETV show “Ringvaade” went to inspect a flying car that has arrived in Estonia, and which is likely to be commercially available in Europe within a year.
Made by Chinese e-vehicle manufacturer XPeng, the model is a two-seater vertical take-off flyer which can reach an altitude of 500 meters and is designed as an urban air vehicle, with a maximum flight range of 80 kilometers.
“The car can fly continuously for 35 minutes, and its top speed is 130 kilometers per hour,” Kristo Tõll, a vehicle expert at Luxury Motors OÜ, told “Ringvaade.”
The car, the XPeng X2, does not come cheap, however.
“The car costs just over €200,000. It is an exclusive product — if someone already owns a helicopter and has a pilot’s license, why not buy a car like this as well?”
As with helicopters, the XPeng flying car does not require an airstrip.
“You take off, go to the store, and come back home,” Tõll went on.
At the same time, not only is there a price hurdle but also a legislative one.
“This type of machine is called a quadcopter. Since it is a manned quad-drone, current European laws do not yet allow such drones to operate,” Luxury Motors OÜ CEO Maarja Litau told “Ringvaade.”
Nonetheless, the manufacturer says sales of the flying car will exceed those of land-based e-cars within a couple of decades.
“It is said that in a year’s time it will be possible to fly such vehicles legally in Europe,” Litau went on.
The X2 has eight motors; even if three fail, it can still remain airborne, using the remaining five. “Even if that doesn’t work, the machine has a built-in parachute, which allows for a safe landing,” Tõll noted.
The X2 is self-flying also, and has no controls. The destination is simply selected by the user.
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