Wednesday, March 27, 2024

MACA Carcopter, an impressive human-piloted H2 racing copter

The CES (Consumer Electronics Show) never ceases to amaze us, and it did the same once again, through the presentation of a flying original F1 race car. Imagined by a French startup MACA, the Carcopter is a project for a flying car powered by hydrogen.

The idea was born in 2018 in Aix-en-Provence, but former fighter pilot Thierry de Boisvilliers and former Airbus executive Michael Krollak – the two aeronautical specialists behind the project – officially launched their startup two months ago. Manned by a human driver pushing the hydrogen-fed electric-driven craft you can see above is basically designed like a Formula 1 flying car. For now, we don’t know the technology behind this concept model, but the developer team claims that this vehicle will reach speeds of 153 mph (246 km/h).

The concept model is still in the early development stages, but its ambitious plans call for a slim-bodied, 16.4-foot-long (5-m) eVTOL racer with room for a single pilot. MACA intends to keep the weight below 600 kg. According to MACA, the Carcopter has zero impact on the environment as it does not emit pollutants during its operation. At the same time, it is inspired to produce much less noise while reducing the footprint of noise pollution.

As you know, Formula 1 has been using synthetic fuels for a long time. Although emissions have decreased slightly since the turbo-hybrid era, the world’s most prestigious racing organization intends to erase its carbon footprint after 2030. The race track, which has also met with electric cars with Formula E, may also say hello to such “flying” racing cars.

MACA will launch the concept model, which will introduce the production version in 2021, to the runway in 2023.