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NEXT-GENERATION FLYING CAR
Could XPeng’s latest creation be the future of eVTOL cars?
WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD
The prototype X3 car in flight during ademonstration
A t the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), XPeng AeroHT, a Chinese electric vehicle company, unveiled its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flying car. Unlike other eVTOL vehicles, the XPeng creation looks like it’s jumped straight from a work of science fiction as a road-worthy car that can sprout wings and fly. But this eVTOL can indeed do just that. In drive mode, it looks like any other aerodynamic supercar. However, at the touch of a button, the steering wheel disappears and the rotary blades begin to emerge, like a space-age Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. At the same time, a hidden compartment at the rear of the car opens up and a set of drone-like propellers emerge, fanning out ready for takeoff.