Florida’s LuftCar has designed an actual burger with the lot: a hydrogen-powered jeepney van that backs right into a particular removable airframe to show right into a high-speed, long-range, cruise-capable vectored-thrust eVTOL, excellent for island hopping.
The corporate has simply introduced it is signed a MoU with eFrancisco Motor Company within the Philippines, beneath which the 2 pledge to develop, combine, deploy, model and market a collection of collaboratively designed Pinoy hydrogen eVTOLs constructed round eFrancisco’s automobile chassis.
eFrancisco, you see, is adapting the standard Filipino jeepney into one thing much more like a van, and planning to run it on hydrogen gasoline cells. Not simply any van, both. Oh no, this one’s gonna have a flip-up entrance for getting out and in.
Oh, and clips on the roof so you’ll be able to again it up right into a five-point docking station to connect the airframe, full with six tilting propellers. At this level, it isn’t a jeepney any extra, it is a flying LuftCar super-jeepney. That hydrogen powertrain provides it a mighty 300-mile (483 km) flight vary, at speeds as much as 220 mph (354 km/h), eclipsing eVTOL market chief Joby Aviation on each counts regardless of having a frickin’ automotive caught on the underside of it.
LuftCar
May there be a extra excellent conveyance for the 7,100-island archipelago that’s the Philippines? Pootle right down to the retailers at Cebu, or Luft your self and your ékipó into the air and pop throughout to karaoke on Bohol. Susmariosep! Everybody’s gonna need one.
“Our flying and highway automobile idea is tailor made for connecting the archipelagos and serving cargo, air ambulance, tourism, and regional transportation verticals,” stated LuftCar CEO Santh Sathya in a press launch. “Our hydrogen propulsion will serve lengthy distance and heavy payload carrying wants within the area, LuftCars have a giant function to play in protection within the area enabling ship to base and base to outpost missions. We’re enthusiastic about partnering with eFMC, whose management has a transparent imaginative and prescient for clear power transportation for Philippines.”
There’s one major problem with this design, and that is the paint job. What the hell? This factor seems to be about as Filipino because the flying Winnebago from Spaceballs. Even DALL-E is aware of what an eVTOL Jeepney’s actually gonna appear to be.
![Now that's more like it! Petmalu!](https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/f6e13b2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1771x986+0+0/resize/1440x802!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F91%2Fd4%2F8f6d20dd47e49754c7d62ec3d366%2Fscreenshot-2024-02-09-at-6.10.58%20pm.png)
AI-generated by DALL-E
Naturally, LuftCar – which at the moment lists its handle as a co-working area in Orlando with none seen “LuftPads” – goes to want some funding behind it to get issues going. There could also be a teeny weeny little bit of pink tape to get via earlier than a street-legal flip-front hydrogen van that converts right into a fuel-cell-powered tilt-rotor eVTOL plane makes it via the trials of automotive and aviation certification and hits the highway.
Apparently, the corporate’s already obtained US$1.5 million from buyers, which we might take into account a triumph of the human spirit. Personally, I reckon these guys are doing everybody a disservice if they do not signal one other MoU with Alieno, creators of the 5,221-horsepower Bulgarian Batmobile, to make a flying model of that factor.
Take pleasure in a brief video beneath, we certain did!
LuftCar film Oct 2023
Supply: LuftCar
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