Science Fact - As Flown at Detroit
Described as a "Luxury Air Cruiser", the Aerwins Technology Xturismo is said to be the first in a whole new class of personal transport - think Star Wars Storm Troopers on Speeders on the forest moon of Endor in 'Return of the Jedi' meeting a drone style hoverbike, and that pretty much brings to mind the Xturismo.
However, this is not science fiction. In fact, Aerwins, a Japanese manufacturer, demonstrated the Xturismo at the recent return of a reimagined Detroit auto show.
As tech edges us ever closer to electric powered aviation and taxis, this machine is not in fact, as might be assumed, an EV, but a good old fashioned hydrocarbon burner - internal combustion with battery and autonomous control via an electric control system.
The hoverbike is already on sale in Japan, and Shuhei Komatsu, founder and CEO of Aerwins, said plans were underway to sell a smaller version in the United States in 2023. In order to make that happen, his company plans taking the SPAC route to a NASDAQ listing that will value the business at $600m.
The Xturismo is claimed to be able to fly for 40 minutes, with a maximum cruising range of 40 km, reaching speeds of up to 62 miles per hour (100 kph). It weighs in at around 300 kg and measures 3.7 m long by 2.4 m wide and 1.5 m high.
The payload is recommended not to exceed around 100 kg…and the price? In a galaxy, far, far away, it is hoped to be able to sell it for $777,000 - although Komatsu has said that the company hopes to get the cost down to $50,000 for a smaller, pure electric model by 2025.