Historically, race cars have had a tremendous impact on the evolution of the consumer automobile. Nearly every element incorporated into modern vehicles, from aerodynamics, steering wheels and suspension to transmissions and turbochargers – was born from innovations on the racetrack.

So when French startup MACA unveils their revolutionary Hybrid Carcopter S Eleven Flying Vehicle at the Eureka Park Marketplace at CES next month, it should come as no surprise that this new flying race car has its roots in the world's fastest sport.

"The racing industry has enabled us to build and evolve our product faster than our competitors because we apply existing requirements and certifications to our craft beginning with our initial design phase, allowing us to overcome all regulatory hurdles before conceptual development ever began," says MACA Chief Operating Officer Thierry de Boisvilliers. "Plus the Carcopter S Eleven will be powered by eco-friendly Hydrogen-based fuel cells, which leaves no impact on the environment while delivering greater time-in-the-sky autonomy than vehicles using electricity or fossil fuels." What's more, de Boisvilliers says, the company's relationship with the world of auto racing allows MACA to fly their vehicle at low altitudes at local racetracks within a closed environment, thus enabling the company to gauge, monitor and support the vehicle through every phase of product testing.

"During trial flights, MACA will place sensors all around the tests-tracks, ensuring that even unmanned sessions will prevent vehicles from hitting walls or – in the case of multiple vehicles testing simultaneously – one another," he says.

A retired French fighter pilot, de Boisvilliers founded MACA in 2020 with former Airbus executive Michael Krollak, after three years of R&D. The concept launched as the direct result of an internal Airbus engineering competition, where the duo's Formula One Flying Car Concept earned top honours, garnering the support of all major Airbus divisions. Now equipped with a Carcopter S Eleven flying prototype, MACA intends to unveil their creation to the world next month in Vegas.

"Like our overall flying car concept, our booth won't be your normal run of the mill trade show exhibit," de Boisvilliers says. "Through the power of Augmented Reality, visitors to our booth will feel the power and excitement of autonomous flight over a broad variety of landscapes and terrains. They will truly experience exactly how it will feel to fly aboard an S Eleven." MACA's exhibit booth at CES will also feature a 1/3rd-sized scale model of the vehicle.