Air Powered Car

13th February 2008

Tata, India’s largest automaker is set to start producing the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicles . The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air to push its engine’s pistons. The zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008.

The Air Car should be surprisingly practical. It will reach a top speed of 68 mph and has a range of around 125 miles. Unlike electric vehicles which can take many hours to recharge, it will take only a few minutes for the car to 'refuel' at stations specially equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI claim it could cost around £1 to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. If a suitable compressed air supply isn't available, then drivers will be able to plug the car into the mains supply to run the car’s in-built compressor to refill the tanks, taking about 4 hours.

MIRA's engineers observed that that new car will not completely irradicate pollution because electricity is still required to compress the air stored in the vehicles cyclinders. The extra electricity is likely to come from fossil fuels, creating an alternative source of pollution. But this doesn’t mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.