DeLorean Becomes the First American Team to Join Airspeeder’s Electric Flying Car Racing Series

DeLorean officially took its automotive legacy into the sky on October 13 hitting the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco to announce the formation of the DeLorean Airspeeder Team. This move cements the imprint as the first American constructor to join the Airspeeder International Series, a pioneering all-electric flying-car racing championship. The squad will make its racing debut when the 2026-27 season opens in November 2026. For its rookie campaign, the team will compete on the aerial grid in Airspeeder’s standardized Mk3C electric race aircraft. To make its mark, the initial Mk3C aircraft will feature custom DeLorean-designed styling, exclusive livery and signature branding.

The Airspeeder racing series itself represents a massive shift in competitive motorsport, founded in 2016 by Australian entrepreneur Matt Pearson. Instead of traditional asphalt, pilots fly electric aircraft through three-dimensional courses marked entirely by virtual gates. Because the competition takes place in the air, the racing aircraft rely heavily on onboard sensors and collision-avoidance technology to navigate the sky at high speeds.

While the first season focuses on standard hardware, DeLorean is already laying the groundwork to engineer its own future. Beginning with the 2027-28 season, the automaker will launch a collaborative effort with engineering students from universities including UC Berkeley and Georgia Tech. Moving beyond aesthetics, the students and DeLorean will work together on the engineering and development of future race aircraft.

This foray into aerial motorsport carves out a distinct lane for DeLorean. While legacy automakers actively invest in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology, DeLorean is uniquely focusing on motorsport to participate in the early development of next-generation mobility. Pushing limits in a competitive arena serves a broader purpose, as the Airspeeder series aims to use racing competition to accelerate technological advances for the air mobility industry, ultimately benefiting passenger transport, emergency response and cargo delivery. Addressing the cultural weight of the moment, DeLorean Chief Brand Officer Cameron Wynne noted that people have pictured a DeLorean in the sky for 40 years, adding, “We decided it was time to stop picturing it.”