Torvec Announces the IVT(TM) Patent Has Been Granted

ROCHESTER, N.Y, Aug. 6, 2004 -- Torvec, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: TOVC.OB) announced today that the United States Patent Office has issued Patent No. US 6,748,817 B2 entitled, Transmission with Minimal Orbiter. This patent has seventeen claims and three drawing sheets. Confirmation that the transmission is patented removes one more barrier to moving forward with commercialization.

This patent is for the infinitely variable transmission (IVT(TM)) which was designed, tested and improved in a Dodge Ram 4x4 (diesel) over the past two years. This transmission demonstrated significant improvement in the fuel mileage for city driving. According to EPA statistics, over 60% of all driving now occurs in city driving conditions. The typical difference between city and highway driving averages approximately five to six miles per gallon. The IVT(TM) narrows this difference. With oil prices hitting new highs, this patented transmission increases in value. If the IVT(TM) was in all new SUV's and light trucks and these vehicles were diesel powered, the annual savings would exceed one billion gallons. At today's average gasoline price this would equate to consumer savings in excess of $2 billion.

However, the American SUV market is primarily for gasoline powered vehicles, and given the worldwide oil crisis it is impossible for the automotive companies to tool up and place diesel powered engines in a majority of the vehicles over a short time horizon. Therefore, at the request of the automotive industry, Torvec is responding to the crisis by putting its transmission in a gasoline powered GM Tahoe. A new design incorporating the improvements from the Dodge tests has been manufactured. Each automotive company has their own design specific to their product line, so the transmission tested in the Dodge cannot simply be placed in the GM Tahoe. Torvec's IVT(TM) fits within the current configuration of the production GM Tahoe. We need not make any modifications. This is especially important to the OEMs (auto manufacturers) for rapid installation and deployment, while being extremely cost effective to make this change. Torvec's IVT(TM) has 166 parts compared to 740 parts for an automatic transmission.

The dynamometer utilized by Torvec is now programmed to do certified testing, and the next step is to establish the exact fuel mileage of the GM Tahoe with its present automatic transmission for the baseline. This is a two to three week process. Torvec has now received all manufactured parts with the exception of the outside housing, and these parts are now undergoing final inspection to check design tolerances. We have completed the written program for the electronic control of the transmission's operation.

Our team of engineers is working long, hard hours to complete this project as rapidly as possible. Our timeframes are measured in weeks, not years.

Torvec, Inc. specializes in automotive and related technology. The company holds numerous U.S. and international patents protecting inventions such as a steering drive and suspension system for tracked vehicles, infinitely-variable transmission, hydraulic pump and motor, constant velocity joint, and spherical gearing. Ice Surface Development, Inc. is advancing technologies to improve driving experiences for industrial, commercial, and consumer vehicles by eliminating the hassle of ice removal and loss of traction. For additional information and presentations, please visit http://www.torvec.com/.