Meet the six-wheel hybrid with eVTOL in the trunk
Xpeng Aeroht brought its modular flying car to CES. This six-wheeled “land aircraft carrier” can travel off-road carrying an eVTOL and charge it for flight at the same time.
This isn't your average six-wheeled hybrid juggernaut if there ever was such a thing. This one has a surprise in the trunk. Have you ever wished you could carry your own personal flying machine in the trunk of your car? This land based aircraft carrier from X-Pan Aero could be the answer. Because of their small size and how heavy EV batteries can be, most personal EV tolls we see are pretty low-range and require some kind of special trailer. To transport them to the place of departure. That's where this six-wheeled mothership comes in. Not only is it designed to transport the two-seater personal flying machine off-road to any scenic lookout around you'd like to fly, but it can also act as a charger. So when you arrive at your destination, the EV toll battery is charged and ready to fly. Expan Aero co-founder and vice president Wong Tan tells me the decision to make the mothership a hybrid vehicle was made to extend the range to 1,000 kilometers, or 621 miles. A full tank of gas and a full charge on the mothership can top up the EV toll in the trunk up to 6 times. As for security. X-Man Aero says it's a top priority. Redundancy is built into everything from the flight system to the controls. Underneath some of the propellers are ducted fans, which can keep the aircraft stable in the event of a propeller problem. The joystick is the primary control mechanism, and a set of buttons next to it perform the same functions as a backup. This time we were not able to sit in the mother ship, but Xant Aero allowed us to enter the EV toll module, which had already conducted manned test flights. As you can see, it's pretty cozy here. I'm about 5'11 in change so. I'm not banging my head on the roof. I have enough space for my legs. Ugh, it feels pretty good. If you're a few inches taller than me, you might hit your head if I really stretch, I can hit the roof, but this thing has to be compact because it has to fit in the trunk. I personally have never seen anything like this. The closest visually, I'd say is the cyber truck because of the light bar on the front and the overall shape and color. However, XPin Aero's modular flying car serves a very different purpose. In fact, I think this form follows function. Why we have this design, I think it's not just for who, I think it's more about the capability of this vehicle, the extra weight of this and it's ability to go off road. And secondly, we think about how to make it futuristic as we bring it from the future. Despite its sci-fi design, Xan Aero says this isn't a concept car. They are planning mass production. They are working on getting regulatory approval in China, already have over 3000 orders pending and expect to start shipping in 2026. The company says the modular flying car. It will be available first in China for less than $300,000 with hopes to expand to other markets in the future. What do you think of the X-Pan Aero Land Aircraft Carrier? Let us know in the comments. Thanks so much for watching. Subscribe to CNET for the latest and greatest tech news. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take off.