Residents and racing car enthusiasts could get to watch the world’s first flying car race in Dubai in the near future as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is likely to host the first-ever flying car race in the world, according to the Chief Executive of Maca Flight Christian Pineau.
The announcement comes as the UAE is preparing to host the world’s largest autonomous (driverless) car racing on April 28, 2024.
Speaking to the press, Pineau shared that the goal of the company is to organize the first real flying car racing championship and the UAE is one of the top potential candidates to host the race.
In January this year, Maca Flight unveiled its first hydrogen-powered flying racing car at CES 2023.
The flying racing car, set to be priced at $2 million (Dh7.34 million), has a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour and zero CO2 emission. The single-seater car will fly just 4-5 meters above the ground level during the racing champion, allowing spectators a good view to watch and enjoy the race.
In the first race, Pineau expects that there will be between 8 and 10 participants.
The first race of the championship will feature a single-seater flying race car, with an expected eight to ten participants.
Maca Flight has partnered with Red Bull to organize the flying race car championship by the end of 2025.
“The first race might be here in Dubai or elsewhere in the UAE. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain have also shown interest in the project,” Pineau added.
The company is also in the process of some regulatory process approvals for the flying racing car.
“Our goal is to make sure that we don’t have problems with certifications. There are a lot of beautiful projects but they’re staying in a garage right now because of certification problems. If you fly over populated areas and transport people, that is where you have problems. In our case, we just fly in a restricted area with no people onboard except the pilot,” Pineau said on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2023.
