Chinese car manufacturer Xpeng once again takes to the skies – this time with a prototype VTOL named the X3 Huitian. According to AutoHome, it is a pure design study that will never reach production.
With its rotor blades folded, the vehicle looks just like a passenger car and is envisioned as being road-legal, too. The four pylons on the roof unfold and extend two rotors each, with the blades 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) in diameter. It can take off from virtually any position with enough free space overhead.
The detailed technical parameters remain to be revealed. The weight of the design study hovers around two metric tons (4,400 pounds), and its powertrain is said to produce 10 to 15 times more torque than any production EV will ever need for land movement. Xpeng admits no such powertrain design exists in production form worldwide, so bringing it to the market would necessitate designing it from the ground up with financial considerations in mind.
Among other things, the prototype makes use of the carmaker’s proprietary autopilot tech. The company says it will use it to research ways to improve flight safety. For one thing, all control systems will get two redundant copies each to ensure the VTOL stays airborne even in the rare event of multi-unit malfunction. It will also remain stable in the air if one of the motors suddenly fails.