Ioniq 5

Make
Hyundai
Segment
SUV

Hyundai remains convinced that flying cars will play a role in future mobility systems and is still on track to launch a production version of the eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) Vehicle Cabin Concept before the decade's end.

In an interview with Top Gear, Hyundai's UK President and CEO Michael Cole revealed that the South Korean brand is still very much committed to making it happen, but not necessarily for human use. "We could see some intra-city type application with the Urban Air Mobility for cargo, but maybe for passengers," said Cole. "But that's towards the end of this decade and obviously smaller scale."

"It's not my division, so that probably tells you that it's not imminent," said Cole. "But we've always said that we really see this as being part of the solution for mobility in the future."

Hyundai first presented the idea of Urban Air Mobility at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show. Originally, Hyundai was meant to supply Uber with flying taxis, but by 2021 the concept had evolved to include autonomous taxis to drive people to and from small airports from where these vertical take-off and landing flying cars could operate.

Hyundai then invested heavily in Supernal, a leading air mobility company that says it's building new roads in the sky.

And for power, it asked Rolls-Royce to help. Not the car division, however. Rolls-Royce's famous aviation business will supply power, though a twin-turbo V12 flying car would be epic.

Instead, Hyundai will be using electricity. Electric motors powered by a battery pack are the most obvious solution. That's how vehicles like the Ioniq 5 work. But for longer trips, Hyundai will use hydrogen. By now, Hyundai's love affair with hydrogen is well-known, but it's not the only manufacturer studying it as an alternative source. BMW already has two hydrogen-powered SUVs running around California.

Hyundai will use carbon fiber and lightweight composite materials to keep weight down. Obviously, any flying vehicle would need multiple fail safes to keep it from falling from the sky. Even then, it will be interesting to see how people react to autonomous flying over short distances.