XPeng unveils breathtaking video of flying cars soaring above cities in latest update
- It seems XPeng has finally made flying cars a reality
- This footage shows them flying above cities
- The flying car is stepping out of science fiction and into the present-day
Published on Apr 08, 2024 at 8:22 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Apr 10, 2024 at 3:14 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Some past predictions suggested that we’d be zipping off in flying cars already, but now it seems XPeng is finally making them a reality.
Now, we’ve got some footage that shows the incredible ground and air vehicles made by the Chinese company in action.
And, while their practicality has previously been questioned – they seem pretty convenient as they soar above the city skyline.
READ MORE! Imagining a world where supercars soar through the skies
The models captured include the XPeng X2 – considered the world’s first flying car and the XPeng AeroHT.
The footage was posted on Instagram to @xpeng_aeroht.
The XPeng can fly for 35 minutes on a single charge and, in the future, this concept will also be able to drive on the roads.
It has four helicopter-style propellers on its sides that get it off the floor.
The XPeng X2 flying car completed yet another successful test flight last month.
It completed its first cross-river flight and flew across a city.
It was the flying car’s first mission over the central city of Guangzhou in China.
XPeng AeroHT, meanwhile, has filed a request to receive an airworthiness certification, which could be approved by next year.
The all-terrain vehicle is both a car and an eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing).
It stands out because it looks like any other supercar, turning into an eVTOL at the touch of a button.
XPeng has even introduced an innovative parachute system for flying car safety in their flagship AeroHT – just in case.
The Chinese manufacturer showcased the new parachute in a video shared across several social media channels.
In the clip, you can see the parachute opening at 50 meters above ground.
For this demonstration, Xpeng used an industry-first, multi-parachute system, which meant that four separate parachutes were deployed.
The system can sustain up to 1 ton of weight in addition to the weight of the car.
It’s pretty impressive, and it could be making the dreams of yesterday into our future.
Let’s hope so anyway – because they look seriously cool.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
