Cheap Air Fueled Car by 2008

MDI (Moteur Developpement International) is planning to release a €4000 air-fueled minicar by 2008. The car is called the MDI OneCAT and is the brainchild of Frenchman Guy Nègre, who has a history in aeronautics and Formula 1. The OneCAT is pushed along by air and air alone, 4 canisters with 300bar each of compressed air which is enough for some 200km at a maximum speed of 110km/h. The engine is built out of aluminum, which is possible since MDI has managed to keep the temperature consistently low. Fueling the car at a station should take no more than 3 minutes, fueling at home can be done in some 4 hours. Sounds like a good solution to lessen air pollution and save a pretty penny on gas. More info and images after the jump. Quoting MDI: This engine was developed between the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002. It uses an innovative system to control the movement of the 2nd generation pistons and one single crankshaft. The pistons work in two stages: one motor stage and one intermediate stage of compression/expansion. The engine has 4 two-stage pistons, i.e. 8 compression and/or expansion chambers. They have two functions: to compress ambient air and refill the storage tanks; and to make successive expansions (reheating air with ambient thermal energy) thereby approaching isothermic expansion.

Press Release

The OneCAT Model

Within the framework of the emerging markets with high growth rate, it becomes a necessity to have a low cost car. This kind of vehicle has been researched by several car manufacturers. For example, Renault has developed La "Logan", a rustic but conventional car with a price of 5,000 € in Romania and 7,500€ in the rest of Europe. This kind of car is meant in particular for overcrowded and heavily polluted cities Based on these facts and combining them with MDI's industrial concept advantages, we initiated the study of an extremely low cost, commercial and clean car:

• Zero pollution in the city using compressed air
• Low consumption and reduced pollution on the road using a bi-energy system

MDI's straightforward and inexpensive technology allows us to live up this challenge. OneCAT will be manufactured into two models:

• A basic and cheaper version: 3 seats, no back seats, no hard top.
• A more complete version: 6 seats, with a hard top, windows, etc...