Air Car Set for 2008 Debut in India
In something of a twist on the concept of alternative fuel, Guy Negre, a former Formula One engineer working with Tata Motors of India, plans to produce six thousands cars powered by compressed air in 2008. Not-so-creatively christened the “Air Car,” the vehicle will reputedly make 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. To refuel, you pull into a gas station and use the air compressor. Cost of a fill up? About $2.
In an interesting twist, if you don’t have access to an air compressor, the car has one built in. Plug the car in to the nearest electrical outlet and you’re good to go (although the built in compressor takes four hours to fill the car.) A “hybrid” version with a gas-powered compressor is in the works.
The light-weight Air Car is built of glued fiberglass so chances are high it will never meet the American streets due to the government crash test criteria, but Negre has his sights set on twelve other nations as potential customers.
Technically, this arrangement can’t be labeled as “emission free” due to the need to power the compressors, but it is a method that offers lower carbon emission than any other existing gasoline-powered vehicle — and it gets a thumbs up for a high degree of creativy in engineering, an absolute necessity in the face of a crying global need to ween the human race off its dependence on fossil fuels.