At the recently concluded Tokyo Motor Show, there was a particular exhibit that was not quite an automobile. It was a Hoverbike and it is called XTurismo from Japanese startup A.L.I. Technologies.
XTurismo, like all hoverbikes, is essentially a giant-size, manned drone. But it looks vastly different from the so-called hoverbikes we have seen thus far. In fact, it looks more like a sports car, but it only seat one and has an upper with a design more akin to a motorcycle, i.e. handlebar and saddle seat.
Also, unlike flying cars that fly hundreds, if not thousands of meters in the sky, XTurismo is designed to fly just meters above the ground. According to Nippon.com, it is not destined for going above public roads. If you look at the promo video, it kind of suggest it as a recreation craft for use outside of cities.
While futuristic, the powertrain isn’t quite so. Apparently, it will still run on internal combustion engine, not electric as a perceived future craft should be. It also has an unusual rotor setup. It has a pair of main rotors on the horizontal plain for vertical thrust and four small rotors mounted horizontally for horizontal thrust.
A.L.I. Technologies will be selling XTurismo in 2020 with a yet-to-be-disclosed pricing. If you are interested, you may want to follow XTurismo on Instagram to keep abreast with its development.
Featured image: Shiho Fukada/Bloomberg.
Hat Tip: The Bridge.
