Tesla’s flying car dreams get a rival as DeLorean enters electric air racing

DeLorean Motor Company is entering flying car racing, joining the Airspeeder International Series as the championship’s first American constructor.

The DeLorean Airspeeder Team is scheduled to debut when the 2026–27 season opens in November 2026.

Announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, the entry puts the brand behind an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL, competing against national teams. DeLorean starts with a standardized racing aircraft before pursuing its own design with engineering students from UC Berkeley and Georgia Tech.

The partnership gives a brand closely associated with the fictional flying time machine in Back to the Future a role in developing electric aviation through competition.

From movie skies to a racing grid

“People have pictured a DeLorean in the sky for 40 years. We decided it was time to stop picturing it,” said Cameron Wynne, DeLorean’s chief brand officer.

The announcement brings DeLorean into a championship created by Australian entrepreneur Matt Pearson. Airspeeder positions its racing series as a testing environment for electric flight technology, using competition to advance aircraft development.

“DeLorean is the original flying car brand. Long before anyone had built one, the whole world already knew what a flying DeLorean looked like,” said Pearson, Airspeeder’s founder and CEO.

“Every great racing series is defined by the constructors who choose to compete in it. To have an American icon line up on our grid in our first international season tells you where this sport is going,” he added.

The entry also extends DeLorean’s identity beyond its recognizable road car, bringing the name to an international motorsport built around electric aircraft.

Electric aircraft race through virtual gates

For its opening season, the DeLorean team is set to compete with the Airspeeder Mk3C, the standardized aircraft package used by other entrants.

Its initial involvement centers on the team’s visual identity rather than a DeLorean-developed airframe. The shared platform gives competing teams the same underlying aircraft package for the 2026–27 campaign.

Instead of following an asphalt circuit, competitors navigate three-dimensional courses defined by virtual gates. Onboard sensors and collision-avoidance systems support racing safety as the aircraft move through the course.

The format adds a vertical dimension to competition, with the racing route extending through airspace rather than remaining on a conventional track.

Tesla has also explored the idea of a hovering sports car through its long-delayed Roadster project. Its Model X features ‘falcon-wing’ doors, while the Cybertruck uses a stainless-steel exterior, drawing comparisons with DeLorean’s signature design.

University teams support a custom racer

DeLorean plans to expand its engineering role for the 2027–28 season by developing its own racing aircraft alongside students from UC Berkeley and Georgia Tech.

The collaboration brings university engineering resources into the aircraft’s design and analysis before a DeLorean-specific racer reaches competition.

Wynne also linked the program to the wider development of advanced air mobility. He said racing offers an opportunity to help shape “the regulatory, safety and compliance frameworks required” alongside the technology.

Several details remain undisclosed, including the team’s pilot lineup, the custom aircraft’s design, and the full sporting program for its debut season.

The announcement concerns a racing entry, with no consumer flying car announced. DeLorean said further details about the partnership’s direction are due in the coming months.