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 electric motor which is feed energy from a 70 kWh
battery pack. This setup gives the flight module a combined output of 214 hp. It enables the module to hit a top speed of 120 km/h and
travel up to 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. This gives the Pop.Up Next a range of 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.
