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| Five-seat concept car runs on air | Five-seat concept car runs on air |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An engineer has promised that within a year he will start selling a car that runs on compressed air, producing no emissions at all in town. | |
| The OneCAT will be a five-seater with a glass fibre body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over £2,500($5,000) It will be driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fibre tanks built into the chassis. | The OneCAT will be a five-seater with a glass fibre body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over £2,500($5,000) It will be driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fibre tanks built into the chassis. |
| The tanks can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes - much quicker than a battery car. | The tanks can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes - much quicker than a battery car. |
| Alternatively, it can be plugged into the mains for four hours and an on-board compressor will do the job. | Alternatively, it can be plugged into the mains for four hours and an on-board compressor will do the job. |
| For long journeys the compressed air driving the pistons can be boosted by a fuel burner which heats the air so it expands and increases the pressure on the pistons. The burner will use all kinds of liquid fuel. | For long journeys the compressed air driving the pistons can be boosted by a fuel burner which heats the air so it expands and increases the pressure on the pistons. The burner will use all kinds of liquid fuel. |
| The designers say on long journeys the car will do the equivalent of 120mpg. In town, running on air, it will be cheaper than that. | The designers say on long journeys the car will do the equivalent of 120mpg. In town, running on air, it will be cheaper than that. |
| "The first buyers will be people who care about the environment," says French inventor Guy Negre. | "The first buyers will be people who care about the environment," says French inventor Guy Negre. |
| "It also has to be economical." | "It also has to be economical." |
| Major savings | Major savings |
| Mr Negre has been promising for more than a decade to be on the verge of a breakthrough. Independent observers are more convinced this time because he recently secured backing from the giant Indian conglomerate Tata to put the finished touches to the engine. | Mr Negre has been promising for more than a decade to be on the verge of a breakthrough. Independent observers are more convinced this time because he recently secured backing from the giant Indian conglomerate Tata to put the finished touches to the engine. |
| The compressed air is stored in carbon-fibre tanksTata is the only big firm he'll license to sell the car - and they are limited to India. For the rest of the world he hopes to persuade hundreds of investors to set up their own factories, making the car from 80% locally-sourced materials. | The compressed air is stored in carbon-fibre tanksTata is the only big firm he'll license to sell the car - and they are limited to India. For the rest of the world he hopes to persuade hundreds of investors to set up their own factories, making the car from 80% locally-sourced materials. |
| "This will be a major saving in total emissions," he says. | "This will be a major saving in total emissions," he says. |
| "Imagine we will be able to save all those components travelling the world and all those transporters." | "Imagine we will be able to save all those components travelling the world and all those transporters." |
| He wants each local factory to sell its own cars to cut out the middle man and he aims for 1% of global sales - about 680,000 per year. | He wants each local factory to sell its own cars to cut out the middle man and he aims for 1% of global sales - about 680,000 per year. |
| Terry Spall from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers says: "I really hope he succeeds. It is a really brave experiment in producing a sustainable car." | Terry Spall from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers says: "I really hope he succeeds. It is a really brave experiment in producing a sustainable car." |
| But he said he was interested to see how the car would fare with safety tests and how much it would appeal to a public conditioned to expect luxury fittings adding to the weight of the vehicle. | But he said he was interested to see how the car would fare with safety tests and how much it would appeal to a public conditioned to expect luxury fittings adding to the weight of the vehicle. |
| Mr Negre says there's no issue with safety - if the air-car crashes the air tanks won't shatter - they will split with a very loud bang. "The biggest risk is to the ears." | Mr Negre says there's no issue with safety - if the air-car crashes the air tanks won't shatter - they will split with a very loud bang. "The biggest risk is to the ears." |