Schools For a Sustainable Future

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Future Cars
Zero Pollution: The Air-Powered Car

A former Formula One engine designer has started marketing his answer to polluted metropolises - a car that runs on compressed air.

The French designer, Guy Negre, is already finding success in developing nations, with the range of e.Volution cars that are piston-driven by normal air under very high pressure. Compressed air isn't a new idea as far as power sources go, but it is the first time that a vehicle has been designed that can use it as a viable source of power.

The e.Volution line is being built by Motor Development International, which will be setting up shop in South Africa under the banner of Zero Pollution Motors. The company claims its air-driven vehicles can reach a top speed of 100 km/h, and can go from 0-50 km/h in seven seconds at startup and in three seconds from braking. It can travel for a distance of 120 miles, or for ten hours, on a 300-bar tank of air.

You'll be able to fill up on air at a petrol station, a process that should only last three minutes, for a fraction of the cost of petrol. The lightweight vehicles (which are made from fibreglass and plastic over steel bars) won't be suitable for long-distance driving, since to compress the air with the onboard compressor can take up to four hours.

The range of vehicles include taxis, delivery vans, pickup trucks and family cars. The vehicle will debut this year, and already has thousands of orders from Mexico, where vehicle pollution is a dire problem.

Preliminary reports on the range of vehicles are so positive that their creator has already reportedly received death threats.

Find out more on these futuristic cars at http://www.zeropollution.com/.

Please note we have contacted MDI Inc. for further information and an excerpt from their response appears below...

"As a solution, we have devised a Q & A session that will efficiently answer most of your questions about our vehicle. The following link will take you to a section we hope will answer many of the questions you have about our vehicle. http://survey.mt01.com/r5/10000037/mdi1.htm"

Tuesday, 6th February 2001