Audi, Airbus Team Approved for Flying Car Tests

Audi AG and Airbus SE signed a letter of intent with various German government authorities that would allow the partners to test their Pop.Up Next flying car concept in Ingolstadt.

The partners offered no other details about their multi-modal project.

Audi and Airbus unveiled the Pop.Up Next concept in March at the Geneva auto show. The updated version of last year’s Pop.Up model, which was designed by Airbus and Volkswagen Group’s Italdesign unit, features a detachable passenger pod that can connect to either an electric skateboard chassis or a large (16-ft by 16-ft) flying drone unit.

The ground and air portions of the system are designed to operate autonomously as a self-driving/flying taxi. The system would calculate the fastest air/road route to a destination. When appropriate, the capsule would separate from the chassis and be picked up by the quadcopter drone.