Air Powers Lightweight Car

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa--Overseas published accounts are noting that urban transport could soon be revolutionized with the launching here of a prototype new car that runs on air.

It is being predicted that the e.Volution will be able to travel up to120 miles for only 30 cents.

The car, which resembles a small minibus, is being promoted by the slogan “Simple, Economic and Clean,” but details of how the vehicle will work remain sketchy.

The e.Volution prototype is being touted as the first viable alternative to cars that run on conventional fuels.

It is expected to sell in South Africa for about R74,000 ($10,000) which is on a par with a medium-sized car.

Helen Brown, who heads Zero Pollution Motors, the company which has the rights to manufacture the car in South Africa, says it will be ideal for urban transport.

The compression engine technology was pioneered by a former French Formula One engineer, Guy Negre, who has spent years searching for an alternative to the traditional oil-fueled engine.

The piston engine is powered by the release of compressed air, which is stored in tanks--similar to scuba diving tanks--attached to the underside of the car.

The body of the vehicle weighs only about 1,540 pounds (700kg), and the engine itself is a mere 35kg (about 77 pounds).

This means that the vehicle can theoretically be driven for up to 10 hours in an urban environment at an average speed of 80km/h (about 50 mph).

The designers of e.Volution say it will be possible to merely plug the vehicle into any electrical power source to fill it up. That could take up to four hours.

But the manufacturers envision that fleet owners could install their own air stations, where a fill-up could take as little as three minutes.

There are currently two factories in France, with the first models expected on the streets later this year. Five factories are planned for Mexico and Spain, with three in Australia.

But South Africa will be the second country after France to open a factory and begin production. Brown says her company aims to set up a production line in the province of Gauteng by next year, with the first cars off the production line and onto the salesroom floor by early 2002.