MC One, the flying car made in Monaco unveiled at the Top Marques Show
The project had been kept secret. We had just seen its futuristic silhouette during teasers cleverly orchestrated on social networks. It took Prince Albert II’s energy cover lever, this Thursday at the Top Marques show, to discover the flying car – you’re not dreaming! – produced in preview by the Monegasque company MC-Clic. This giant drone, which looks like it came straight out of the Fifth element by Luc Besson, designated by L2 Concept, responds to the sweet name of MC One.
Already involved in the project of a flying Renault 4L in 2021, for the 60 candles of this legendary car, MC-Clic is this time the main instigator. “We have grown internally and we have decided to look furthersays Erwan Grimaud, founder and manager of this company specializing in drones. The carbon monocoque chassis was manufactured in Antibes. Everything was assembled and finished in Monaco.”
Top speed at 140 km/h
On paper, this 160 kg machine, equipped with eight electric motors and as many propellers, displays eloquent aeronautical characteristics: an upward acceleration of 17 meters per second, a vector thrust of 800 kg, a top speed estimated between 120 and 140 km/h. “She will be electronically restrained but technically she is able to perform stunts like loops and rolls.”entrusts its creator.
Piloting can be done manually, with a joystick for example, or like a drone with an encrypted and secure radio held by a pilot outside. “There is also an autonomous version, not yet finalized, where you indicate a GPS point and the machine you have cut and go there”continues Erwan Grimaud.
Twenty minutes of battery life
On the side of the electric autonomy, the MC One can evaluate in the air up to twenty short minutes. Only if the conditions turn out to be optimal. “If the atmospheric pressure is regular, if the temperature is 25°CErwan Grimaud list. It is capable of carrying a passenger up to 140 kg. Naturally, the heavier the pilot, the lower the range. » It recharges on type 2 sockets, at the electric vehicle stage.
The machine should fly in September in the Principality
This prototype – which appeared between 140,000 and 180,000 euros depending on the options, customization and autonomy – is now in production and pre-orders were opened on Wednesday. “The first copies will be delivered early next year., promises Erwan Grimaud. And, like other machines of this kind, the use is above all recreational. On private property such as on the high seas, around a yacht for example. “We study how, regulatory speaking, we could fly it everywhere.”
For the time being, the MC One has only flown during tests on private land in Cuneo to study the redundancy of the engines, that is to say the capacity of the machine to continue its flight even with the loss of engines, but also its capacity to transport people. “In September, in Monaco, we should fly it from the heliport.”
An inaugural flight which is reminiscent of that of David Mayman, on September 26, 2016, who had twirled twenty meters above sea level with his Jetpack JB-10, a sort of Hoverboard that you put on your back.
On the innovation side, MC-Clic is not to be outdone and is already working on another project, this time on land: an autonomous robot that could help firefighters to intervene on fires.
Progress never stops.