Compressed air run car

[Blackmask]

I can't see this being the next thing for GearHeads, but it's a new technology.

The world's first commercial compressed air-powered vehicle is rolling towards the production line. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre, will be built by India's largest automaker, Tata Motors.

The Air Car uses compressed air to push its engine's pistons. It is anticipated that approximately 6000 Air Cars will be cruising the streets of India by 2008. If the manufacturers have no surprises up their exhaust pipes the car will be practical and reasonably priced. The CityCat model will clock out at 68 mph with a driving range of 125 miles.

Refueling is simple and will only take a few minutes. That is, if you live nearby a gas station with custom air compressor units. The cost of a fill up is approximately $2.00. If a driver doesn't have access to a compressor station, they will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car's built-in compressor to refill the tank in about 4 hours.

The compressed air technology is basically just a way of storing electrical energy without the need for costly, heavy, and occasionally toxic batteries. So, in a sense, this is an electric car. It just doesn't have an electric motor.

But don't let anyone tell you this is an "emissions free" vehicle. Sure, the only thing coming out of the tailpipe is air. But, chances are, fossil fuels were burned to create the electricity. In India, that mostly means coal. But the carbon emissions per mile of these things still far outdoes any gasoline car on the market.

Unfortunately, the streets of North America may never see the Air Car, though; it's light-weight, glued-together fiberglass construction might not do so well in our crash tests. However, that does not mean the Air car is confined to the sub-continent. Nègre has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.

And this isn't the last we'll hear of the technology. The folks making the Air Car are already working on a hybrid version that would use an on-board, gasoline-powered compressor to refill the air tanks when they run low. Negre says that technology could easily squeeze a cross country trip out of one tank of gasoline.

A variety of videos (of varying quality) on this technology can be found on YouTube, or after the jump.
Via: Popular Mechanics

[Val]

Interesting article about compressed air cars. I've heard about them in the end of the 90's with a bad technology. The mechanics injected air through a compressor in the car engine as a fuel.
The idea and technology today is more improved as in this source.

[yanjonm]

I wonder what the 0-60 will be.

[Val]

1 hour!
These air engines are not strong ...

[Blackmask]

The technology is still very early on. The Model T Ford wasn't exactly a high speed vehicle when it first came off the assembly line.

They are small, low cost, low emission, so in countries like China, Japan, Vietnam, where the streets are very crowded and the populations large in small areas, these could work well.

[Frasier]

...but it's a new technology.

Sorry, but it's not new. Something like that was done, decades back already, and it's not the concept for the future, it's only useable for micro traffic (in towns) and the engines are too weak...and... not bad, though.

[Val]

Welcome to the auto forum Frasier!
Go to the introducion thread and say something there for us!

[Blackmask]

Originally Posted by Frasier

Sorry, but it's not new. Something like that was done, decades back already, and it's not the concept for the future, it's only useable for micro traffic (in towns) and the engines are too weak...and... not bad, though.

Decades ago the petroleum companies were buying a lot of the alternative technology and shelving them. Might not be a decades worth of research behind them.

Not the concept for the future? You mean like computers will always be the size of a room and expensive? Or people don't need to have a phone on them all the time? CDs will never replace vinyl and tape?

[open32]

It might work in cities and stuff, for taxies. Short range things that dont need to go on the highway. Take NYC, yu cant excelerate or get passed 30 MPH.

[yanjonm]

Originally Posted by open32

Take NYC, yu cant excelerate or get passed 30 MPH.

Taxis can pretty much get away with speeding.

[Frasier]

Not the concept for the future? You mean like computers will always be the size of a room and expensive? Or people don't need to have a phone on them all the time? CDs will never replace vinyl and tape?

...and only the four richest kings in Europe can afford them...

Compressed air, is nothing new... and what great inventions in this field are you expecting?

[Blackmask]

Originally Posted by Frasier

Compressed air, is nothing new... and what great inventions in this field are you expecting?

Air is fairly good supply and fairly clean as an energy source....not really sure where it might go and was more admiring your future seeing abilities that it's not a concept for the future.

[Samson The Cat]

Air is fairly good supply and fairly clean as an energy source

If there just wasn't the second law of thermodynamics. Imagine a car that could run on air alone. It would suck in air in the front and blow it out in the back - without changing it chemically. The only differece would be that the output air was colder than the input air. The engine would take the energy to propell the car from the thermic energy of the air. ...too bad this can't work.

The compressed air car on the other hand...

But don't let anyone tell you this is an "emissions free" vehicle. Sure, the only thing coming out of the tailpipe is air. But, chances are, fossil fuels were burned to create the electricity.

[Blackmask]

Electricity can be sourced from wind, solar, hyrdo....just because the chances are it came from fossil fuels doesn't mean the process can't be "emission free".