Nobody saw this coming at an auto show: one of the strangest exhibits at the 29th Chengdu International Auto Show rolled in with its own aircraft riding in the back. Tarantas.News got a close look at the ARIDGE Land Aircraft Carrier, the project formerly known as XPENG AeroHT, now flying under its own name.
The ground module is a three-axle, six-wheel machine roughly 5.5 meters long. It exists for one job only: hauling a folding, two-seat eVTOL on its back.
Under the skin: 6x6 drive, rear-steering wheels, and an 800-volt silicon-carbide platform paired with a gasoline range extender. Claimed range tops 1,000 km on the CLTC cycle. The cabin still seats four — the rear of the body is fully given over to the aircraft bay.
The aircraft itself seats two and stays aloft on six rotors, with manual and automatic flight modes on offer. The ground module doubles as a charging station: ARIDGE claims it can take the eVTOL's battery from 30 to 80% in about 18 minutes, and a full tank plus full charge is said to be good for five or six flights.
