MDI MiniCat & CitiCat Air Cars

For years, ex-Formula One race car engineer Guy Nègre has been developing and striving to market his Air Car concept. Now, it looks it may really happen. His France-based MDI (Moteur Developpment International) has recently signed an agreement with Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company, to apply MDI’s compressed air engine technology in India. Starting here could provide needed momentum for other markets as well.

Nègre’s CAT (Compressed Air Technology) engine is a piston engine powered by the expansion of compressed air. MDI has shown two models in prototype form, the three passenger MiniCat and somewhat larger CitiCat in six passenger sedan, taxi, van and pickup versions. A lower cost OneCAT is on the drawing board.

The basic MiniCat or CitiCat could be powered solely by a “single-energy” compressed air engine. The four-cylinder, 800 cc boxer-style engine produces 25 horsepower, sufficient to give the 1650 pound vehicles a top speed of 68 mph. The vehicles have a range of 125 miles on the 4400 psi air held in carbon-fiber tanks. It would take only a few minutes to refuel at gas stations equipped with MDI-supplied air compressor units. Drivers could also plug into the electrical grid at home and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill its tanks in about four hours.

For greater range, the vehicles could use a “dual energy” system that features a dual-fuel version of the engine using compressed air and a combustible fuel like gasoline. When running under 31 mph in urban areas, the engine runs only on air. At speeds greater than that, the engine switches to fuel mode. In this mode, the on-board compressor also refills the compressed air tanks.

The thought of an air-powered car has captured the imagination for some time. Now, with MDI’s CAT engine, the concept seems tantalizingly close.