air powered car

[Molly Fletcher]

   Air Powered Car In  India
Tata  Motors is ready to introduce Air Car - Will it be the next big  thing?   Tata Motors is taking giant strides and making history for  itself.  First the Land Rover/Jaguar deal, then the  world's cheapest car, and now it is also set to introduce a car that runs on compressed  air.



India's largest automaker,  Tata Motors, is set to start producing the world's  first  commercial air-powered  vehicle.
 
The  Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Negre  for  Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as  opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of  internal-combustion models, to push its engine's  pistons.  Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars  are  scheduled to hit Indian streets by August 2011. 
 
The Air Car, called the "MiniCAT" could cost  around Rs. 3,475,225  ($8,177.00) in India and would have  a range of around 300 km between refuels.   The cost of a refill   would be about Rs. 85 ($2.00)

The MiniCAT, is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular  chassis that is glued,  not  welded,  and a body of fiberglass powered by compressed   air.  Microcontrollers are used in every device in the  car,  so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to  the lights,  indicators, etc.

There  are no keys - just  an access card which can be read by  the car from your  pocket.  According to the  designers, it costs less than 50  rupees per 100 Km  (about a tenth that of a petrol car).   Its mileage  is about double that of the most advanced electric  car  (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which  makes  a perfect choice in cities where 80% of motorists  drive at less  than 60 Km.  The car has a top speed  of 105 Kmph.

Refilling the car will, once the  market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to  administer compressed air.  In two or three minutes, and  at a cost of approximately 100 rupees, the car will be ready  to go another 200-300 kilometers.

As  a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which  can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the  tank in 3-4 hours.  Due to the absence of combustion and,  consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 liter of   vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000  Km).
The temperature of the clean air expelled by  the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which  makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning  system with no need for gases or loss of  power.

[Molly Fletcher]

We use compressed air in our automata machines we make and it's incredibly powerful. Maybe the electricity needed to produce the compressed air top up could be generated by green energy like wood chip burning, solar or tidal energy.

[Chris Wells]

I hate to put a dampener on this thread, but how do they compress the air into the tank so you can then put it in the car?

Surely the process would still involve using fossil fuels?

[Nick Hartley]

Sounds to good to be true!  I was aware of some development work in France on compressed air powered vehicles, but this beats all.  At the moment though I'm heavily committed to electric cars,

having two: a Citroen C1 E'VIE range 60 miles, 60 mph top speed and  G-wiz (40/40) I'm trying to sell.

Anyone want to buy? - £2000 ono

[Shabber Ahmed]

This is amazing and the way forward for environmentally freindly transport. I'm planning to travel to India so would definitely try and travel in this car.

[Nilufer]

How brilliant..this info should reach far and beyond ...