Supernal S-A2 eVTOL Is the Flying Taxi That Could Be Real

Supernal is an "AAM," an Advanced Air Mobility company that will be building and selling a four-passenger, single-pilot electric air taxi by 2028. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with two California research facilities, Supernal is a big player in the emerging eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing)/AAM/UAM (urban air mobility) space, an industry that's expected to be worth over 50 billion dollars by 2032. To give you a better idea of the size of the market, there are currently just over 30,000 commercial airplanes in use globally. According to Hyundai president and Supernal CEO Jaiwon Shin, there could be "hundreds of thousands of AAMs" in operation in the near future.

One of those, apparently, will be his company's latest model, the S-A2. The eVTOL industry seems to be consolidating around a single design as far as configurations go: one pilot and four passengers, and that's exactly how the S-A2 is set up. The plane (helicopter?) features eight rotors in total, with one row on the front of the wing, and the other foursome mounted to the rear of said wing. For takeoff, the rear quartet of motors angle down 90 degrees, and the front four raise up 90 degrees. As the energy needed for vertical climbing is an order of magnitude more than used by conventional flying, as quickly as possible the rotors rotate to their horizontal positions, and the S-A2 then flies like a conventional airplane.

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Speed is estimated to be 120 mph, the functional range is 40 nautical miles, and the flight ceiling is 1,500 feet. We're estimating that the battery size is somewhere in the 150-300-kWh range. The vehicle shown is a preview of the prototype (which begins flight testing in 2026; Supernal will be busy with research and development and FAA regulations through 2025), and no specifics were given as far as hardware goes. Perhaps most important, the noise the S-A2 generates during takeoff is 65 decibels, whereas it only produces 45 db of noise while cruising. To give you some context, 65 db is the noise level inside a typical restaurant, and 45 db is as loud as a washing machine. That means these will be able to fly over dense urban cores without disturbing people. Perhaps "UAM" is a better name than "AAM"?

Like all eVTOLs, the S-A2 is designed with multiple redundancies in mind. It can both fly and land if one or more rotors fail, and the battery is actually a series of batteries in case one fails. Supernal did not provide specifics, but it strenuously stressed safety through the presentation and subsequent Q&As.

The S-A2 was created under the watchful eye of Luc Donkerwolke, the chief creative officer for Hyundai Motor Group. Donkerwolke rose to prominence in automotive design circles two decades ago when he designed the Lamborghini Murciélago. He explained that, like most car designers, he's long drawn inspiration from airplanes and that the Murci's signature party trick—its variable, movable air intakes—were in fact modeled after similar intakes on a jet fighter. With the S-A2 he pointed out, "Cars are now influencing plane design."

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Inside the cabin, half of the four passenger seats can be easily removed, and all four can completely come out to carry cargo. Passengers will have USB ports to charge devices, as well as some storage for personal items. The S-A2 will initially take off and land at "Vertiports," specifically designed locations that will also have the necessary charging equipment. Supernal is relying on Hyundai's expertise with BEVs for the battery technology needed.

The Supernal S-A2 is a stunning if not imposing design and a fascinating look into the near future of mobility. Based on the emergence of many players within the AAM space (Archer, Joby, Vertical Aerospace, and many others) this mode of aero-ride hailing is coming quick. Hyundai tends to put their money/massive wealth where its mouth is, and we see no reason to doubt that Supernal will be a major player in the AAM world. Watch this space!