One of the most unusually shaped eVTOLs airborne

ZEVA Aero would break into the air transport market with a saucer-like vehicle to replace cars with single-seater flying capsules. ZEVA Aero’s eVTOL, Zero, is a departure from the usual aeronautical devices: it has a disc, or saucer if you like, design for more dynamic flight, which the manufacturer claims can effectively increase range by reducing drag. The vehicle is only a personalised one, so its prospective owners will not be able to transport friends and family as passengers, nor will it be suitable for use as an air taxi, but given this and its projected high starting price, it is likely that Zero will expand the list of luxury toys, along with flying motorcycles and other extreme aircraft.

The eVTOL has long been under construction by ZEVA, but the first public test and airborne flight of its latest prototype has only just taken place: on 9 January, a four-minute demonstration was held to demonstrate the vehicle’s manoeuvrability, which included tests of its ability to hover, cruise at low speeds and fly upwards.

At the test, the company has only demonstrated the most basic functions of the vehicle, without a passenger, neither the top speed (which ZEVA promises to be around 257 km/h) nor the horizontal, lying position can be achieved, but this will be demonstrated in the near future during further demonstrations: it is planned to work on the special “Superman-like trajectory” during the spring tests.

The eVTOL will be available for pre-order in the spring for $5,000 a pop, with a final price of $250,000.