XPeng, a Chinese brand that specializes in flying cars, has devised a new and innovative safety feature for its vehicles.
They’ve given their flagship car, the Aeroht, a parachute system.
READ MORE: Watch as the world’s first flying car the Xpeng X2 completes cross-river flight
The XPeng Aeroht is what is known as an eVTOL.
The acronym – which we seem to be hearing pretty often these days – stands for Vertical Takeoff [and] Landing, and the ‘e’ stands for electric, which most VTOLs are anyway.
So that means that, in theory, the Aeroht is perfectly capable of landing by itself, pretty much on the spot.
However, XPeng decided to fit a parachute, 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.
So even if you could find four Jack Reacher-sized human beings to fit in the Aeroht while landing, the system could take it.
The Aeroht is a modular car, in that the main structure remains the same, but you can use it as a car on wheels or an air taxi without them.
The idea is to beat traffic, which is becoming an increasingly important concern for automakers.
Even Tesla has come up with a new system to beat traffic.
However, Tesla’s system is different.
Instead of hovering above traffic, Elon Musk’s ‘Boring Company‘ (that’s literally what it’s called) came up with an ingenious solution by using underground tunnels under the streets of Las Vegas.
It’s a bit like the London tube system, except you’re using Teslas and not trains.
