Supernal S-A2: Hyundai’s Advanced Air Mobility Vision Takes Flight At CES 2024

Supernal LLC, Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) subsidiary, debuted its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle product concept, S-A2, at CES 2024. Building on its earlier vision concept, S-A1, introduced in CES 2020, Supernal aims to pioneer safe, efficient, and affordable everyday air travel for urban commuters.

The S-A2 is a pilot-plus-four-passenger V-tail aircraft designed to cruise at 120 miles per hour at a 1,500-foot altitude, catering to typical city operation needs for trips ranging from 25 to 40 miles. The vehicle employs distributed electric propulsion with eight tilting rotors, ensuring a quiet operation of 65 dB during vertical take-off and landing and 45 dB while cruising horizontally.

Safety is a priority, adhering to global commercial aviation standards with a robust airframe structure and redundancy in critical systems.

 

Supernal plans to enter the market in 2028 and leverage Hyundai’s mass production capabilities to manufacture the vehicle cost-effectively. The design prioritizes sustainability, passenger comfort, and modularity, allowing for battery upgrades as technology advances.

Collaborating with Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive designers, Supernal crafted the S-A2’s aesthetics, emphasizing a blend of design and functionality to enhance the AAM passenger experience. The vehicle’s interior features distinct color palettes, aviation-grade, energy-absorbing components, and lighting transitions for visual cues during different flight phases.

Displayed at CES 2024, the Supernal Vertiport exhibition showcases the S-A2 in an operational setting—attendees can explore the vehicle, experience a simulated flight over Los Angeles, learn about potential flight networks, and understand the role of vertiports in facilitating seamless integration with existing transit options.

Supernal’s holistic vision for AAM envisions vertiports as key elements, serving as origin, transfer, and destination points for eVTOL aircraft operations, promising enhanced mobility beyond existing ground infrastructure capabilities. What’s your opinion about the S-A2? We’re excited to see where this project is going shortly!

Paulo Montenegro
Categories: Transportation
Tags: CES, CES 2024, electric aircraft, hyundai