Image Credit: INK Agency
Flying car racing series Airspeeder has partnered with architectural firm Hok to design a modular vertiport for eVTOL racing.
Claimed to be the world’s first modular race vertiport, the partnership aims to showcase the future of eVTOL racing with a new sports typology that benefits the entire advanced air mobility (AAM) industry.
“We believe that Airspeeder is the key to unlocking the AAM industry at scale,” Airspeeder Co-Founder Jack Withinshaw told Zag Daily. “Just like the dawn of the automotive era 130 years ago, racing was one of the automobile’s first reasonable applications.
“Competition drove innovation in performance and safety technology. Some of its earliest competitors became names that are still synonymous with industry. Most importantly, it helped drive awareness, acceptance and mass adoption. This is the bold vision of Airspeeder, to do just that for the AAM industry for this mobility revolution.”
At the core of the Airspeeder design is the Skydeck – a multi-functional hub that sits below the airborne racetrack to give viewers a 360-degree experience. The vertical nature of the setup is designed for viewers to see all the events from one spot, including the race grid, mid-race pit stops, and the finish line.
Building on Hok’s expertise from serving F1 sporting events, the Airspeeder vertiport is designed to give all viewers an immersive experience.
“Airspeeder provided an opportunity to rewrite the rule book for racing,” Hok’s Director of Sports and Entertainment John Rhodes said. “Traditionally, much of the F1 action is not accessible to spectators or only to select VIPs. With Airspeeder, fairness, visibility and accessibility are key to the design. We created an immersive environment where people can see into the pit, observe race operations and watch the race itself from the Airspeeder vertiport.”
The vertiport will also include an ‘airside’ zone for teams to have protected workspaces to ensure operational safety. Retractable landing pads will allow Airspeeders to make mid-race pit stops to change their batteries.
Adhering to a “leave no trace” policy, the modular vertiport features solar-powered infrastructure and virtual race tracks to minimise environmental impact.
Skydeck is initially set up to accommodate up to 10 teams and 20 Airspeeders, but its modular design enables it to be expanded as the Airspeeder series grows. The Skydeck can change location depending on the region the race is taking place in.
“As we graduate the sporting side of the series from uncrewed racing to crewed racing in 2025, we see the Skydeck complimenting our bold vision for the future of Motorsport and mobility,” Jack said.
