+ The AirPod: Tata's compressed air concept car

Via Slashdot comes news of Tata's concept car that runs on compressed air:

The AirPod is 6.7 feet long and weighs 485 pounds. The driver controls the motion of the vehicle with a joystick.

The vehicle has four wheels, and uses rear-wheel drive. Refueling the vehicle’s 46 gallon (175 liter) compressed air tank tank only takes a couple of minutes, according to the company.

MID expects the AirPod to reach production by mid-2009, and to sell for around 6,000 Euro. Four other models, featuring speeds up to about 70 mph, are also on the drawing board.

Note that it will only be truly zero-carbon if you use a zero-carbon power source to compress the air in the first place. Like many alternative fuel technologies, it shifts the emissions from the tailpipe to the point of generation, but it's certainly a step forward!

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