Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-Mile Ra

Mgamer20o0

Mgamer20o0

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Jun 4, 2003
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The Air Car caused a huge stir when we reported last year that Tata Motors would begin producing it in India. Now the little gas-free ride that could is headed Stateside in a big-time way.

Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year.

And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI’s two-seater OneCAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat MiniCAT (like a SmartForTwo without the gas), the New Paltz, N.Y., startup is aiming bigger: Company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit U.S. roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI’s CityCAT (pictured above) that, thanks to an even more radical engine, is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up.

We’ll believe that when we drive it, but MDI’s new dual-energy engine—currently being installed in models at MDI facilities overseas—is still pretty **** cool in concept. After using compressed air fed from the same Airbus-built tanks in earlier models to run its pistons, the next-gen Air Car has a supplemental energy source to kick in north of 35 mph, ZPM says. A custom heating chamber heats the air in a process officials refused to elaborate upon, though they insisted it would increase volume and thus the car’s range and speed.

“I want to stress that these are estimates, and that we’ll know soon more precisely from our engineers,” ZPM spokesman Kevin Haydon told PM, “but a vehicle with one tank of air and, say, 8 gal. of either conventional petrol, ethanol or biofuel could hit between 800 and 1000 miles.”

Those figures would make the Air Car, along with Aptera’s Typ-1 and Tesla’s Roadster, a favorite among early entrants for the Automotive X Prize, for which MDI and ZPM have already signed up. But with the family-size, four-door CityCAT undergoing standard safety tests in Europe, then side-impact tests once it arrives in the States, could it be the first 100-mpg, nonelectric car you can actually buy?
Click to expand...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html
 
great job MG

I saw this on discovery channel special on new concept cars......the inventor is also working on a generator that will suck in air and refill the tanks while you drive....YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE TO STOP!!!!
 
Impressive

I need to get my hands on one of these.
 
The oil companies and their lobbyists will not allow it. Great technology and idea, but not enough vocal demand and the patents can be bought.
 
2 problems, its light, which I doubt crash safety, and its ugly. No freaking way I'll be caught dead in that peice of e*** trash. I'll take the Chevy Volt, least it looks better, and is built by a US company. Sorry international folks, but I was born and raised in the US, I'm staying domestic.
 
my accord was built in the USA..... as much domestic as any other car lol.......

well maybe the good thing but they are doing this in india..... i think it will go better in some of those countries where gas is even more and they already have a lot of small cars..... they already building i think a 1000 what ever their money is in india car. to market it in the us it will change.....
 
i traveled 1000 miles once on one fillup in my diesel golf.

:) and looked cool in it for each and every mile.
 
Nice, if they make it look plausibly driveable.
 
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