Japanese Startup's Car-Alternative Hoverbike Goes on Sale for $680,000

Isabella James, Tech Times 29 October 2021, 02:10 am

A Japanese startup's hoverbike has gone on sale in Japan for $680,000. The company hopes that people will consider their product as an alternative to cars.

The hoverbike, which is named XTurismo Limited Edition, was created by ALI Technologies, which has received backing from Mitsubishi.

Laws in Japan do not allow hoverbikes to fly over roads. The hoverbike, however, still remains to be one of the potential transportation alternatives that people can take in the future, which will one day include electric vehicles and even flying cars.

Japanese Startup's Hoverbike is Priced at $680,000

ドローン開発を行う日本の新興企業が、空飛ぶバイク「ホバーバイク」を開発し、販売を開始した。 pic.twitter.com/JrQRDW0niq
— ロイター (@ReutersJapan) October 28, 2021

A Japanese startup's hoverbike that costs $680,000 has gone on sale in Japan. The company behind it, ALI Technologies, hopes that the hoverbike can be an alternative to cars.

"We hope to offer a new method of movement," said ALI Technologies Chief Executive Daisuke Katano."

According to a report by BBC, the hoverbike, which is called XTurismo Limited Edition, "can fly for 40 minutes at up to 100km/h (62mph) on a single charge." It is also equipped with four battery-powered motors as well as a conventional engine.

Reuters Japan has posted a tweet containing a video of the XTurismo Limited Edition on its official Twitter account.

ALI Technologies, according to the BBC, is hoping to manufacture 200 hoverbikes by mid-2022. The BBC report has, however, pointed out that current laws in Japan will prohibit the XTurismo Limited Edition from flying over roads.

The report also notes that such is also the case in the United Kingdom.

What is a Hoverbike?

A hoverbike is pretty much, as its name suggests, a vehicle that looks like a motorbike but can hover above the ground.

ALI Technologies' XTurismo Limited Edition is the latest example of hoverbikes that have been developed or created. Another example of a hoverbike is the Hoverbike Scorpion-3, which is considered the world's first manned electric hoverbike.

Back in 2016, YouTuber Colin Furze made his own hoverbike and posted a video of his creation on YouTube.

Alternatives to Fuel-Powered Cars

While the hoverbike is currently not allowed to fly over the streets in Japan, ALI Technologies thinks its product can still be an alternative to fuel-powered cars in the future.

According to Ben Gardner of Pinsent Masons, as mentioned in the BBC report, the emerging technologies focused on transportation are signaling change.

"The current trialling of emerging technologies such as driverless cars, autonomous robots and drones shows there is a blueprint for new forms of transport to move out of the realms of science fiction and into the real world," he said.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isabella James