MDI CityCAT: World's First Air-Powered Car

For all of the talk about hybrids, biofuels and electric cars, what about air? It's abundant, it's cheap and is emission free and most importantly, it can be pressurized. So why haven't we seen more innovative approaches to using pressurized air to propel vehicles? The simple answer is, safety. Air-powered cars have to be ultra-light, and in most cases an extremely light vehicle made of fibreglass and foam would almost assuredly fail North American crash tests miserably.

Enter the MDI CityCAT which is now headed into an initial production run of about 6000 vehicles. The CityCAT (pictured above) is the world's first air-powered production vehicle that is run entirely on pressurized air. Is the car super-light? Yes. Would it fail crash tests on this continent? Most definitely. But that hasn't stopped countries from lining up to place advanced orders. MDI is headquartered in France, and the entire initial production run of CityCATs will be built and distributed exclusively to India which seems like a logical origin for this type of vehicle. India is grappling with a massive influx of new drivers, overpopulation on their roads and a fast-emerging pollution crisis. Germany, South Africa and Israel have all signed deals to bring these cars to their respective countries as well.

While air-powered vehicles are unlikely to ever be sold in North America, the impact they can have in other markets could someday be substantial. Check out this video that offers a great overview of this type of vehicle.

Another video that delves into more detail about the air-powered car concept...

source: popular mechanics

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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Floyd J. Casey said:

Gentlemen;
As soon as they are available in the U. S. A. I would be interrested in a FRANCHISE. I think this the greatest news of the 21st Century.
Floyd Casey

Posted at 05:58 PM, on July 24 2008

2

Berna Carr said:

I would like to own a franchise in this .
Berna Carr.

Posted at 09:26 PM, on October 18 2008

MDI CityCAT: World's First Air-Powered Car

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