CARazed

The possibility of an air powered car on American roads by 2009 is looking more and more likely. New York startup automaker ZPM and India’s Tata motors jave both licensed technology from MDI.

MDI is planning to release air powered cars of their own in Europe starting under $15,000. ZPM is working on a 6-seater for America. It would be powered by a 75 HP air motor and enough comperssed air on board for a 1000 mile range at 96 mph. Prices should start just under $18,000.

Air cars are simply cars that run on compressed air. Air has been driving power tools for years and someone at MDI figured out that you could apply the idea to a vehicle. The cost is so low because the technology is simple and available today. Unlike an electric, plug-in hybrid, or hydrogen car that depends on the latest developments. Air cars leverage years of working with compressed air in other applications. Photo credit ZPM.

Zero Pollution Motors (ZPI) will e the first company to build and sell the Air Car in the US. ZPM is run by Shiva Vencat, the exclusive representative for Motor Development International (MDI) in the United States. MDI is a French company headed by Guy Negre the inventor of the Air Car.

The Air Car has an engine that literally runs on compressed air. Tata, India’s largest auto maker has already announced it will build the Air Car in India. ZPI’s announcement marks an important milestone in the progress toward a truly production air powered automobile. Jumping into the American market is no small task but ZPI expects to be selling cars here by 2009 or 2010.

ZPI is also an Automotive X Prize competitor. This is not surprising and if they can pull it off I suspect they’ll create some real competition for Aptera and Fisker, our two favorites to win. So far ZPI has no real cars running. MDI has prototypes on the road but the car pictured here is still in the works. We’re looking forward to seeing how they come along.

Moteur Developpment International (MDI), a Spanish company has built prototypes of a car that runs on air… no really… the engine runs on compressed air much like that pneumatic drill in your garage. The horsepower is fairly low but it gets around town just fine. Currently MDI is in the processing of getting factories setup in Spain. Their website needs a lot of help but here’s a link to a page that describes how the CityCat and MiniCat work.