A flying motorbike may sound like something in the future, but in 2022, it has become a reality as Japanese automaker ALI Technologies has revealed the world’s first flying bike or hoverbike, the XTURISMO Limited Edition, which can hover for about half an hour and can reach speeds of around 100 kmph.
The hoverbike powers four electric motors and an internal combustion engine that runs on petrol. Upon close inspection, you’ll see it uses six blades to lift off and navigate — with two larger blades, front and back, and two on each side.
It promises to fly for 40 minutes at up to 100-km/hour. While the maximum speed of the hoverbike hasn’t been disclosed, 100 seems to be the economic speed to fly at, according to the brand.
In terms of dimensions, it stretches 3.7 meters in length, 2.4 meters wide, and 1.5 meters in height. Unfortunately, it offers only a single-seating set-up, limiting the fun. All in all, the XTURISMO flying bike weighs about 300 kg.
“Until now the choice has been to move on the ground or at scale in the sky. We hope to offer a new method of movement,” said Daisuke Katano, President and CEO of ALI Technologies.
The start-up, whose backers include industrial heavyweights Mitsubishi Electric and Kyocera, demonstrated the bike with a short flight a few metres off the ground at a racetrack near Mount Fuji.
Katano said that in the near term its uses will be limited to such sites – and will not be allowed to fly over Japan’s packed roads. But the bike could be used by rescue teams to reach difficult to access locations, he said.
The company plans to produce a limited run of 200 of the single-rider hoverbikes, each weighing 300kg, for delivery in the first half of 2022. The company also aims to bring out a fully electric hoverbike by 2025 too.
