Automakers are doing everything they can to get off the ground! Whether they prefer books or movies, fan of the saga Harry Potter I know. In the second part of the adventures of the famous young wizard, he is on board a Ford Anglia manipulated and bewitched to steal that the latter and his friend Ron go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sci-fi fans may have more on their mind than Korben Dallas’ flying taxi in which Leloo arrives at the beginning of the feature film The Fifth Element while baby boomers happily remember Citroën DS steering wheel that escapes the Juve commissioner, played by Louis de Funès, in Fantômas, is unleashed.
Until then fictitious, “Flying cars” could very well become a reality in the near future and interfere in already congested airspace. Indeed, car manufacturers Recently have multiplied collaborations and projects with the aviation industry also called to transform us.
Technological cooperation or new models?
In mid-June, on the eve of the 54th edition of the Paris Air Show that is, the Paris-Le Bourget Air Show, Renault presented in an ephemeral hangar built within the confines of the northern Paris airfield its new high-end SUV-coupe. A vehicle called… Rafael. A name well known to military and civil aviation enthusiasts since it is that of the famous fighter plane signed by Dassault Aviation.
>> READ ALSO: Renault Rafale: refined design and advanced technology, discover it in images
Imagined in the mid-70s and put into service in French, European (Croatia, Greece), and international skies (Egypt, United Arab Emirates, India, Indonesia, Qatar) a quarter of a century later. A coincidence that is not really a coincidence, since the old Régie already used this surname before the war, at the time when its founder Louis Renault powered and produced Caudron aircraft.
If you are more likely to see the new Renault Rafale evolve on a highway than on a take-off runway, the destiny of the future Renault 4 E-Tech could be completely different.
In 2021, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Renault 4the teams of Arsenal, I imagined what a flying version of this cult little vehicle would look like. The result – AIR4 – is a kind of large drone: a VTOL pour « Vertical takeoff and landing ». That is to say a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
« AIR4 does not need wheels to move. It uses four double propellers, one in each corner of the vehicle. The chassis is placed in the center of the frame and the driver can sit in the passenger compartment by lifting it up. AIR4 works with lithium polymer batteries of 22,000 mAh and can reach a maximum speed of 26 m/s with an inclination of 45° during flight and can fly up to 700 m altitude »its designers later detailed.
Like the automobile industry, aeronautics is reinventing itself
Renault Group also collaborated with The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. in 2022 in terms of batteries of the future and energy storage.
” For the first time, Two European leaders from different sectors share their technical knowledge to shape the future of hybrid-electric aircraft. Aviation is an extremely demanding field in terms of safety and energy consumption, just like the automotive industry. Our engineering teams discuss (together) to converge transversal technologies that will allow hybrid aircraft to operate and develop the vehicles of tomorrow.” jointly specify Gilles Le Borgne and Sabine Klaukerespectively directors of Engineering of the Renault Group and of Airbus.
Research that could also serve the cause of the automobile and aeronautics industry also forced to reinvent itself under the pressure of global warming. On the side of the French-Italian-American group, Stellantis’s race for the clouds has also begun.
Win on the road and in the air
Two years ago, the automotive group led by Carlos Tavares took a stake in Goalkeepera young American company that develops l’eVTOL Midnight. A 100% electric plane with a range of 160 km and capable of transporting four people on board in addition to its pilot. Now, “Stellantis and Archer are working together to build the aircraft production site” indicate the two partners.
“With an initial surface area of 32,000 m² and a production capacity that ranges up to 650 aircraft per yearThe factory can be expanded by more than 51,000 additional m² to support a production that can reach up to 2,300 aircraft per year », they add. Besides, Stellantis will bring “up to 150 million euros in fairness which Archer may use at its discretion in 2023 and 2024, subject to the achievement of certain objectives. indicates a financial press release.
Selon Carlos Tavares, “The strengthening of our partnership with Archer as a strategic investor and our plans to increase our stake in the company is proof that Stellantis continues to push boundaries to deliver eco-responsible mobility solutions for everyone on the road and in the air ».
A market valued at 1.3 billion euros
this market is sustainable air mobility It is estimated at 1.3 trillion euros between now and 2040 Morgan Stanley. A sector that, therefore, whets the appetite of other manufacturers.
The Korean group Hyundai Motors Group with an air mobility division called Supernalthus signed an agreement with aero engine manufacturer Rolls Royce Holdings related to the development of hydrogen engines and the design of an airplane, or flying taxi, powered by H2 whose first tests are expected in 2025.
