Audi Made A Flying Car With The Help Of Airbus And Italdesign


Flying cars are all the rage these days so it comes as little surprise that Audi has joined forces with Airbus and Italdesign to unveil the Pop.Up Next concept at the Geneva Motor Show.

Billed as an “entirely electric, fully automatic concept for horizontal and vertical mobility,” the model is an evolution of the previous Pop.Up and is based around an ultra-lightweight two-seat passenger cabin that can be attached to either a car module or a flight module.


In order to fly, the car is attached to a drone-like structure which features four pods housing eight helicopter blades. Each blade is powered by a 26 hp (20 kW) electric motor which is feed energy from a 70 kWh battery pack. This setup gives the flight module a combined output of 214 hp (160 kW). It enables the module to hit a top speed of 74 mph (120 km/h) and travel up to 31 miles (50 km) before needing to stop for a 15 minute recharge.

The car module is a skateboard-like platform that houses a 15 kWh battery and two electric motors that produce a combined output of 80 hp (60 kW). This gives the Pop.Up Next a range of 80 miles (130 km) on a single charge.


The companies imagine the Pop.Up Next could be useful in large cities as visitors could arrive by plane and then hop into a vehicle with an air module already attached. The Pop.Up Next would then transport them downtown, where it would land on a car module and be secured with three titanium coupling points.

The flight module would then detach itself and fly away to be recharged. The passengers would then be left in a fully autonomous car which would transport them to their final destination.

Carscoops

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