Indian auto giant Tata will now move into phase two of developing its Air Car concept. The first phase was completed in May when they used they were able to use air powered engines to run two cars. Speaking in this regard, a company spokesperson said “In the second phase, we are working together to complete detailed development of the technology and required technical processes to industrialise a market-ready product application.”
In an air- powered car, compressed air is used to power a piston- based engine. While such technology costs almost nothing to run as the only item that will need replenishing is the compressed air, it has two major downsides: a limited range and top speed. However the company spokesperson said-Tata was working on several opportunities to improve the efficiency of the engine and also establish reliability and life estimation as a part of a detailed development process.
Tata has purchased this technology from a European company called Motor Development International. If it is successfully developed, the air powered cars will join the Nano as a part of the company’s low- cost motoring initiatives. Tata however has not given a specific time frame for by which the vehicles will be ready for production.
Source: Livemint
