General Motors unveiled a futuristic flying Cadillac on Tuesday – a self-propelled vehicle that takes off and lands vertically and transports the passenger above the streets and through the air.
A senior GM director described the concept as “a new look at the future of personal transportation”.
The single-passenger Cadillac – technically a vertical take-off and landing drone (VTOL) – will be able to travel from urban roof to urban roof at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour.
It is fully autonomous and fully electric, with a 90 kW motor, a GM Ultium battery pack and an ultra-light body with four pairs of rotors.
The flying Cadillac was featured in a video as part of a virtual keynote presentation by Chief Executive Mary Barra, along with a family-friendly Cadillac electric shuttle.
Barra revealed last year that the automaker was exploring alternative modes of transportation, such as air taxis.
The concepts in the CES video were introduced by GM design chief Mike Simcoe, who described the VTOL as “the Cadillac of urban air mobility”.
“VTOL is key to GM’s vision for a multimodal future,” he said.
The autonomous Cadillac shuttle, described in the video as ‘coming’, has a square silhouette reminiscent of the Cruise Origin, also designed by the Simcoe team. It features sliding front and rear doors and a panoramic glass roof.
The cabin has lounge-style seats all around, plus biometric sensors, voice control and hand gesture recognition.
GM declined to disclose further details.
Other automakers, including Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Geely Automobile, have previously shown concept air vehicles as part of their future planning.
GM shares were up 6.2 percent to $ 47.82.