Filed under: Emerging Technologies
Old video of air-powered car making the rounds at YouTube
Funny how what's old becomes new again, thanks to the archiving power of sites like YouTube. A seven-and-a-half minute video clip from CNN (a global or international version of the news network, by the looks of it) that was posted to YouTube in February just got picked up by MobileMag. The video is of a minicar that runs on compressed air. The technology is the work of Guy Negre, MDI president who used to work on F1 engines and his son Cyril. They have been working on the Air Car in the south of France since 1997 and have over 30 patents on the technology.
Even though the YouTube video was uploaded in February 2006, the original CNN broadcast was from 2004 (The announcer says the vehicles should be on the road by the end of 2004, and the scroll across the bottom speaks of a major suicide bombing at the U.S. military's "Green Zone" in Baghdad). MobileMag is ebullient about the car, which from the video sounds great ($6,000 for a car that can go 110 kmh and doesn't pollute? Sign me up), but the reporter focuses more on calling the car "radical" than on the obvious problems with the car (the cost and energy required to compress the air at home, the range, etc.). While the news is old, it is interesting to see how YouTube can help our collective memory for what kind of car tech was hot in 2004. The Air Car's website from MDI is here.
[Source: YouTube, suggested by Jason Kapadia]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
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Chris M 3:46PM (2/08/2007)
Sounds like MobilMag didn't realize how old that report is, or how MDI never actually got into production. Ever promising, never delivering.
The "air car" uses large 300 bar (4,500 psi) high pressure carbon fiber tanks, similar to those proposed for hydrogen. Special compressors are required - standard air compressors rarely go over 200 psi. Inefficient - air compression produces lots of waste heat which means large thermodynamic energy losses. Range and speed are severely limited, unless fossil fuels are also used. (yes, the "air motor" can act as an internal combustion engine.)
It is inferior to electric cars in efficiency and performance, and is a poor substitute for LiIon batteries. The only real advantage is built-in air conditioning - the compressed air cools considerably while expanding through the air motor.
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isaac boakye 1:11PM (6/18/2007)
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Charlie 9:12AM (5/11/2009)
And now in May 2009 we are still waiting for the "on the road at the end of 2004" vehicles.
Of course, we are still waiting for the e.Volution air car that MDI and Zero Pollution Motors announced in late 2000, with production to start in 2001.
And we are waiting for the Eolo Car by MDI that was to go into production in 2003.
All of the above are on hold, but surprise!!!! MDI last October announced the AirPod air car with production to start in Spring 2009. Of course, that hasn't happened yet either.
Compressed air has relatively low energy storage capacity, even at 300 bar /4500psi. That makes it difficult to achieve the sort of ranges that MDI has claimed repeatedly since 2000. My guess is that problem is why MDI has never ever delivered even a single car.
Never ever let an independent journalist or auto magazine do a road test.
But they will gladly sell you a distributorship and an area franchise with an option to buy a factory from them.
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