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A bunch of hot air?
Here at mental_floss, we're interested in all things smart, especially when it comes to automobile advancements. A while ago, we wrote about the Smart Car (aka "the Swatchmobile"), and the exciting news that you'll be able to buy one here in the States as early as 2008. We've also written about an electric sports car called the DarkStar featuring an engine with virtually no moving parts that goes 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds and is powered by lithium ion laptop batteries.
But how much smarter is this: A car powered by air! Indeed, you read that correctly"¦ air -- well, to be more specific, compressed air. And the only thing that comes out of its tail pipe? Why cold air, naturally -- some of which can be recycled back through the AC unit.
Designed by Moteur Development International (MDI), the revolutionary "air car" will go into production soon. From the website:
The duel energy engine"¦will work exclusively with compressed air while it is running under 50 km/h in urban areas. But when the car is used outside urban areas at speeds over 50 km/h, the engines will switch to fuel mode. The engine will be able to use gasoline, gas oil, bio diesel, gas, liquidized gas, ecological fuel, alcohol, etc.
Now you might be thinking to yourself: ah, sounds like a bunch of hot air to me. Well, I don't blame you. As the old cliché goes, seeing is believing. So go take a look at this video, linked to by our friends over at hugg.com.