I may have mentioned this earlier but Honda is working on an eVTOL. They showed it off at the Japan Mobility Show. You want to know why they are making one?
‘We do all of this to serve more customers with the joy of expanding their lifestyle choices.’ So if your lifestyle choice is to float in the air above the ground, Honda has you covered (at least in the future)
So let’s see. Honda, Suzuki, Suburu, and Hyundai (and probably more that I haven’t noticed yet). The Japanese and Korean auto makers are getting involved in the flying car scene. Will it expand to the west? Let’s hope.
Honda's is bit different though - not in concept or even design, but in experience. As Honda rightly points out, it's the only company in the world that has obtained FAA certification for both an airframe and an aircraft engine. And this VTOL concept sat alongside the latest version of the HondaJet in the company's booth. So if anyone can pull this off, it might be Honda.
With the eVTOL concept, Honda promises transport that's safer and quieter than a helicopter thanks to electric power. It's meant to work as a complement to rather than a replacement for smaller urban cars and motorcycles, to take you longer distances without the need for roads.
As for its technical specifics, Honda's eVTOL is characterized as a tilt-rotor but features eight steady rotors for vertical ascension and a pair of front-facing propellers for movement. In-flight, a gas turbine enhances the power from the battery, potentially extending the 62-mile range to approximately 250 miles. (to hell with sustainable resources when you’ve got that kind of range)
Positioned next to the latest purchasable HondaJet, the eVTOL's feasibility appears more grounded. However, Honda's assertion of incorporating F1 technology into the eVTOL confuses me (and others) slightly.
They have an informative website about this plan so take a look: https://global.honda/en/tech/Electric_Vertical_Take-Off_and_Landing_aircraft_eVTOL/