After Rinspeed's Lotus Elise that runs on water and in it, it's the Tata's turn to announce an equally imaginative car – only this one is much more significant since it might just become a production reality. It is a car that runs on love and fresh air. Okay, maybe not love – but it certainly runs on compressed air to drive its engine.
Tata is collaborating with Motor Development International, a company based in Nice, France on the project. The car is reported to have a top speed in excess of 96kph. However, with a 300km tank range, it'll go up to 60kph on air alone and up to an amazing 200kph with an air/fuel combination. It is also claimed possible to cover 1450km on a tank of fuel, provided speeds are moderated: the faster it goes, the less the range becomes. MDI claims that the amount of electricity needed to compress a full tank's worth of air will cost a mere Rs 120. That's Rs 2.50 per kilometre! The incredible range and top speeds can be achieved only with very light bodies, and in the endeavour to reduce as much weight as possible, the bodies are made from fiberglass that has been glued together and injected foam. Even the chassis is made from aluminum to save weight, and glued (not welded) to simplify manufacturing.
What is really shocking is the launch date for the car: it will launched sometime this year for sure, maybe this summer. The Tatas will produce it in India, as will MDI in France. Refueling, just like hydrogen-powered cars, will be an issue since the compressors that manage to inflate tyres do not have the ability to fill the tanks of the air-powered car, whose Airbus Industries-manufactured lightweight tanks will be full only when the pressure inside them reaches 4500psi – a far cry from the 20-odd psi one needs for tyres on a small hatch.
With a projected price beginning just under 3 lakhs, the Tatas seem to be filling any holes in the price range between the Nano and the Indica. Should Maruti be worried? You bet.
