Mankind has long sought to defy gravity and conquer the skies. Through sheer willpower and innovation, we’ve produced ungodly aircrafts capable of breaking the sound barrier, ungodly aircrafts capable of reigning destruction upon the Earth, and now in the age of wearable tech, the BMW Electric Wingsuit which will allow humans to independently manoeuvre the air.
Developed in collaboration between the German automaker’s i Division, Designworks, and professional skydiver / BASE jumper / daredevil Peter Salzmann across three years of research and testing, the BMW Electric Wingsuit has only recently been taken outside of the lab… and 10,000 feet above Austria’s Three Brothers mountain range.
While the suit component of the wingsuit largely resembles what you’d find anywhere else, the key difference here is the BMW i EV chest-mounted pack. Weighing in at 26 pounds, it houses twin carbon impellers which spin at approximately 25,000 RPM, generates a total of 15 kW / 20 horsepower, and according to its first run in the wild, can throttle a man to speeds of 299.34 km/h (all powered by a 50-volt lithium battery).
“It’s an idea I just couldn’t shake,” says Salzmann.
“I found the idea of being able to jump from my local mountain wearing the wingsuit and land in my garden fascinating.”
Witness it in action above and below.
