Zero-emission ´air car´ on sale in Europe this year
Author: Robin Brown
Published: 14 February 2008
A car that can run on £1 of compressed air for over one hundred miles, has a top speed of 90mph, returns the equivalent of 120mpg and has zero emissions will go on sale this year.
The vehicle - which will cost between £2,500 and £3,000 - is the brainchild of Guy Negre and will be brought to market with the assistance of Tata Motors - the manufacturer that recently launched the world´s cheapest car and is on the verge of sealing a deal to buy Jaguar and Land Rover.
Compressed air from petrol stations can be used to fill the car´s tanks, whereupon the pressurised air is used to move pistons. An electric motor works to increase air pressure and has to be topped up periodically.
The tanks can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes, or the vehicle can be plugged into mains to power an onboard compressor.
Tata unveils the Nano - the world´s cheapest car
The vehicle consists of a fibreglass frame, uses its own emissions as air conditioning and could go on sale in India and Europe as the OneCAT later this year.
Larger models have an additional fuel tank for petrol, diesel or ethanol to heat air and increase pressure for longer journeys
Negre - a former F1 engineer - who owns the MDI factory where the models are designed and assembled - says the 350kg vehicles are an obvious response to rising fears about climate change and the cost of petrol.
Fears about safety and a lack of weight-increasing comfort fitting in the car could pose a problem in western markets, but Negre says there are no safety concerns, though in a crash the compressed air tanks would explode with a tremendous bang.
This one looks like more than just hot air
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Why was the only bidder an indian company? Don´t the establishment want an air car? Or are they afraid of their revenue development :)
The performance claims put forth by the developers are not supported by science. Lots of claims but their prototype fell short in tests. Hold on to your wallets, ask for proof. They having been claiming production on the horizon for the last 8 years.
...and the Oil Wars
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Tata Motors is the BEST!!!!!!