Airspeeder carries out the world’s first eVTOL drag race in Oz
Any time anyone creates a new vehicle invariably someone wants to race them and create a new sport.
Key takeaways
- The world's first ever eVTOL drag race The latest outing for the Mk3, the latest generation, saw two of them pitted against one another in an aerial drag race, each piloted by a team of Alauda Aeronautics engineers.
- The course was a short one, at just 300 m (984 ft), but saw the pair rise to an altitude of 15 m (50 ft) and the leading craft reach a top speed of 155 km/h (96 mph), with Team Bravo leading Team Alpha across the finish line.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2022) 'Airspeeder carries out the world’s first eVTOL drag race in Oz', 311 Institute, 13 January. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/evtol-racing/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Around four months after sharing footage of its flying car's first test flights in Australia, Alauda Aeronautics has now announced that they’ve carried out the world's first eVTOL drag race, albeit with no humans onboard after a pair of remotely piloted Airspeeder Mk3 aircraft were flown down an aerial drag strip as part of pre-season preparations ahead a full blown F1-style air race series which is slated for later this year.
I first caught wind of their ambitions back in 2017 with the startup outlining a plan to “usher in the era of urban air mobility” by “fostering innovation through high-speed and high-risk aerial racing.”
Learn more about the Future of Mobility, by Futurist Keynote Matthew Griffin
The most recent test flights saw the Mk3 Octocopter take to the air over a South Australian desert for the first time, and these vehicles are no slouches. They can fly from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.8 seconds and are designed to reach altitudes of 500 m (1,640 ft).
The world's first ever eVTOL drag race
The latest outing for the Mk3, the latest generation, saw two of them pitted against one another in an aerial drag race, each piloted by a team of Alauda Aeronautics engineers.
The course was a short one, at just 300 m (984 ft), but saw the pair rise to an altitude of 15 m (50 ft) and the leading craft reach a top speed of 155 km/h (96 mph), with Team Bravo leading Team Alpha across the finish line.
Eventually the fully fledged Airspeeder race series will see up to four teams each with two pilots who will race the aircraft "blade-to-blade" around an electronically governed Augmented reality (AR) enabled “sky track.” These will be hosted at different locations around the world and streamed online, and according to Alauda, are still scheduled to kick off this year.
Source: Alauda Aeronautics
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Any time anyone creates a new vehicle invariably someone wants to race them and create a new sport.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
What future do you need to see?
Choose one to get started on transport and mobility and the future of your organisation.
Sources and further reading
- Alauda Aeronautics airspeeder.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 13 January 2022. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2022). Airspeeder carries out the world’s first eVTOL drag race in Oz. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/evtol-racing/
You are welcome to quote this article with credit and a link to the original.