- Two flying race cars competed in the skies over Adelaide for the first time, as part of the Airspeeder series
- Pilots Zephatali Walsh and Fabio Tischler went head-to-head, piloting flying cars remotely from the ground
- Walsh took home the gold in the inaugural 0.6-mile race and said he 'couldn't be prouder'
- While this race was unmanned, Airspeeder says it aims to race the flying cars with pilots on board by 2024
This week, two remote-controlled flying race cars competed in a track race in the skies over Adelaide for the first time, as part of the Airspeeder series.
The race saw pilots Zephatali Walsh and Fabio Tischler go head-to-head, piloting two 13.5ft-long flying race cars remotely from the ground.
Walsh took home the gold in the inaugural 0.6-mile race, and said he 'couldn't be prouder'.
The flying cars are made from carbon fibre and are powered by a performance machine that delivers 320kW - around the same power as an Aid SQ7 performance SUV.
Each car can lift a weight of more than 176lbs (80kg), meaning a pilot will be able to sit on board in the future.
In terms of acceleration, the flying car can go from 0-62mph in just 2.8 seconds, while the vehicle is also able to climb to 1,640ft (500 metres).
Walsh and Tischler were given full license to race the flying cars around a digital racetrack above the pink salt flats of Lake Lochiel, near Adelaide.
And the pilots didn't hold back, with three overtakes in the first lap alone, a daring overtake at just 3.2ft (one metre) off the ground, and plenty of thrills in between.
'As pilots, we've been developing this sport behind the scenes over hundreds of hours of simulator, engineering and testing work and through this process we have been united as a group of pilots in one common goal - to deliver this historic first race,' said Walsh.
'As soon as the lights turned green, we became racers competing for a place in the history of this sport and flying cars as the coming transportation revolution.
'I couldn't be prouder to know that forever more I'll be the first winner of an electric flying car race and I look forward to retaining my crown as we go racing around the world in the coming months.'
The race took place over a 0.6-mile track, with the competition played out in two sessions, broken up by a rapid battery-swap pitstop.
While this race was unmanned, it won't be long before we see flying race cars with pilots on board go head-to-head.
Airspeeder expects the first fully crewed Grand Prixs to start in 2024.
'Every transformative moment in human transportation has been accelerated by motorsport,' said Matt Pearson, founder of Airspeeder.
'As we stand on the cusp of the 21st century's great leap forward in delivering on the promise of flying cars, the role competition plays is as important as ever.
'For this reason, in winning the world's first flying car race, Zephatali Walsh hasn't just made motor sport history but writes his own chapter in the genesis of a mobility revolution.
'This is just the start, this first race offers only a glimpse of our promise to deliver the most progressive, transformative and exciting motorsport in the world.
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