There's a reason we have helicopters and planes: they serve very different purposes. Helicopters can't travel anywhere near as fast, cover the same range, or hold as much cargo/passengers, but they can hover, take off and land vertically, and go where planes cannot. However, Airbus is attempting to bridge the gap between the two types of craft by adding wings to a helicopter.
The Racer (Rapid And Cost-Effective Rotorcraft) prototype helicopter would look at home in a new series of Airwolf. But its stand out feature is two wing-like structures attached to the sides with lateral rotors on the ends.
Airbus refers to this as an innovative "box-wing" design. By adding the wings and rotors, it allows the Racer to travel at an increased speed and therefore have a greater range than the more typical helicopter designs. What that translates into is a helicopter capable of hitting speeds of up to 400km/h with a low acoustic signature. An electric "start and stop" of one engine during flight will also be incorporated as an eco mode in order to save fuel.
We could be waiting some time before the Racer appears in the skies, though. When discussing the design, Guillaume Faury, Airbus Helicopters CEO, said "It will pave the way for new time-sensitive services for 2030 and beyond, setting new benchmarks for high-speed helicopter transportation."
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The Racer is already a proven concept thanks to Airbus building the Eurocopter X3 high-speed prototype. That helicopter managed to travel at 430km/h while using less than 80 percent of its available power back in 2011, and then 472km/h in 2013.
Airbus' aim now is to finalize the design of the Racer and demonstrate its suitability for commercial use. In particular, Airbus sees the Racer as a good solution for medical services and search and rescue operations.