Introducing "Leo", the flying electric hypercar

Urban eVTOL, a new US-based company, has pledged to deliver a three-seater "flying electric hypercar" which boasts a top speed of 400km/h (250 mph) and a range of over 480 kilometres (300 miles).

The company was formed in Spring 2020 by Pete Bitar and Carlos Salaff and is a joint venture between the former's Electric Jet Aircraft and the latter's SALAFF Automotive.

According to the company, the Leo was designed by Salaff and features "a revolutionary, proven electric propulsion system created by Pete Bitar".

Read more: eVTOL viability will require significant innovations, report claims

Bitar, who has been devising vertical propulsion systems for decades, also has a DARPA (the US Government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) contract to develop the electric jetpacks that he invented. He also won one of nine NASA "Future-Scaping Our Skies" awards for his work on-ground infrastructure and air traffic control for the burgeoning eVTOL industry.

Salaff has a background in automotive design, including the Mazda Furai concept car.

Urban eVTOL is billing the Leo as "the brainchild of two passionate creators who desired to build an aircraft unlike the aeroplane or helicopter" and "an automobile for the sky - as science fiction has foreseen."

The company has now released the first renders of the three-seat lift-and-cruise design Leo, which runs 16 electric ducted fans for vertical lift, designed by Bitar, and several more at the rear for horizontal thrust.

The hypercar’s propulsion system has also recently been awarded funding by DARPA which will allow for further development of the design.

In terms of flight time, Bitar has claimed that the Leo's relatively lightweight and the efficiency of its ducted fans together with its high speeds will equate to around an hour and 15 minutes, including five minutes for takeoff and landing.

Read more: Lilium brings electric air taxis to Brazil in $1bn deal

In an interview with New Atlas, he said: "With our high forward speed of 250 mph (400 km/h), you’re looking at nearly 300 miles, or 450 kilometres, roughly, on a single charge.

"We’ve done the math on that. We’ve empirically tested the forward thrusters and the vertical thrusters, so we know what we’re going to be burning. And that’s running the vertical thrusters for as much as two or three minutes on takeoff and landing, to account for the forward speed we need."

Beyond being an innovative idea for personal transport, Urban eVTOL says that the compact form will make Leo "ideal for fire rescue, medevac, Coast Guard, tourism, exploration and most any terrain without developed road infrastructure."

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