A new tech startup has announced plans to hold a flying car race in Australia before the end of 2020, the first of what it hopes will be a series of events that could become the 21st century version of F1.

Organized by Airspeeder, a tech startup with offices in Adelaide and London, the race will feature two remotely piloted flying cars, racing through the outskirts of Coober Pedy, a small town in the Australian Outback used as the setting for the original Mad Max films.

The first race is planned as a public exhibition, with support from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and Airspeeder hopes it will be the first of an international circuit of races that could expand to include piloted vehicles.

'Le Mans, Bathurst, Monaco, there are these amazing places where we've seen the birth of new sports,' Airspeeder's Matt Pearson told ABC News.

'This is such a great place for us to basically create that next iconic place for racing.'

In addition to Coober Pedy, the company says future races could be held in the Mojave Desert in California, and two other unannounced international locations are being developed.  

Airspeeder believes a major international racing event could not only help the company refine its technology and lead to a new tourist boom in the Outback.

'We hope it's going to be fantastic for tourism — anything that's exciting, new and innovative is perfect for Coober Pedy,' Pearson said.

'Where else would you see flying cars in an alien landscape?'