It's a Bird… It's a Plane… It's a hoverbike that can fly for up to 40 minutes

In the video that surfaced online, one can see XTURISMO, a hoverbike developed by Japanese firm AERWINS Technologies. This hoverbike weighs more than 300 kg can stay in the air for upto 40 minutes at a time and travels at speed of up to 62 miles per hour.

Thad Szott, a co-chair of the Detroit Auto Show, said that riding the XTURISMO hoverbike was "exhilarating", "comfortable" and like something right out of a sci-fi film, Reuters quoted.

The hoverbike is already on sale in Japan. Shuhei Komatsu, founder and CEO of AERWINS, said plans were underway to sell a smaller version in the United States in 2023.

The XTURISMO Limited Edition is priced at $777,000 and is available in black, blue and red colours. Komatsu further added that the company hopes to get the cost down to $50,000 for a smaller, electric model by 2025.

XTURISMO hoverbike was introduced in the 283rd edition of Nippon Broadcasting System's "Murmur of the News Department's Hatanaka Desk" about the "possibility of flying cars". It suggests a major tectonic shift in the automobile industry, A.L.I.Technologies said.

After the videos of the luxury hoverbike went viral, Netizens can be seen having different opinions about the bike. A user named DaeguDave said, "Yes, bikes traveling in the sky at 62 MPH, crashing into trees, birds and other bikes.  What could possibly go wrong?”.

Deeps Tate is disappointed in humanity said, "Do you need a pilot's license to fly it? What type of aircraft is it? Is it an ultralight? Light sport? rotorcraft? Something different? Can you insure it? Where are you allowed to fly it? It will take years just to work out the regulations. I just love the modern world.”

One user named Yanni Tsiou suggested, "Put some dirt bike wheels on it & some nice shocks. Make it a little lighter & have it bounce off the earth into the air. Amazing!”.

Japanese company, AERWIN technologies has said that it intends to go public and will conduct an initial public offering of shares on the NASDAQ exchange in November.

(With input from Reuters)

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Also read: XTURISMO – The World’s First Hoverbike Takes First Flight In The U.S.