A Car that Runs on Air?

Moteur Developpment International (MDI) a french company has devised an engine that runs on Compressed Air. And Tata is planning to bringing it to Indian roads!

MDI's engine runs off a canister of compressed air that is carried on-board. These cannisters can be filled at modified fuel pumps. The prototype car can give a traveling range of about 200-300 kms on a full tank. This is better than most electric cars of today, and is good enough for an urban commute.

This article describes several goodies that come with this car. "The MiniC.A.T is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass. The heart of the electronic and communication system on the car is a computer offering an array of information reports that extends well beyond the speed of the vehicle, and is built to integrate with external systems and almost anything you could dream of, starting with voice recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, and of course every form of digital entertainment. The engine is fascinating, as is and the revolutionary electrical system that uses just one cable and so is the vehicle’s wireless control system. 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." It also claims that the running cost for this car will be about a tenth of a petrol car.

Tata and MDI have issued a press release about the venture. MDI seems to have already conducted some field trials in Mexico. One cool thing about this car is that the exhaust is cooler than the outside atmosphere, so it can be used to air-condition the passenger cabin!

The question that begs to be asked though is, If I run out of gas, can I run it off my tyres? :)