CAT Vehicles

Well what this vehicle lacks in looks is certainly makes up for in fuel efficiency.

You see, this car isn’t powered solely on gasoline and it’s not a hyrbrid. It’s not operated by solar or fuel cell energy. And it doesn’t have an alcohol or ethanol-based burning engine.

It runs on air. That’s right, air. Compressed air to be specific.

French financier Guy Negre has spent the last twelve years of researching and developing engines for CAT vehicles (Compressed Air Technology) for the Barcelona-based organization Motor Development International.

Now the company has finally produced vehicles that they believe will change the way we drive.

The company boasts that CAT vehicles have significant economical and environmental advantages over conventional fossil fuels burning cars claiming that CAT Vehicles have close to zero pollution. And since their cars run mostly on compressed air, there are little costs for fuel.

While there is still much secrecy behind the workings of the engine, there is some information of how this thing works.

It’s quite simple really. The piston engine is powered by the release of compressed air which is stored in tanks, very similar to scuba diving tanks, attached to underneath the car.

The engine has 4 two-stage pistons. They have two functions: to compress ambient air and refill the storage tanks; and to make successive expansions thus giving the car power.

MDI’s CAT engines can be equipped with and run on dual energies – fossil fuels and compressed air. When the driver chooses, the engine can run exclusively on fossil fuel. While the car is running on fossil fuel, the compressor refills the compressed air tanks.

MDI has already developed five different CAT vehicles:

The Family – based on the needs of a typical family. The Van – designed for daily use in industrial, urban or rural environments, whose primary drivers would be tradesmen, farmers and delivery drivers. The Taxi – just as the name suggests The Pickup – designed for excursions, outdoor sports or water sports. The Mini – a three seater car with minimal dimensions

The Family
Dimensions: 12.5 ft, 5.6 ft, 5.7 ft
Weight: 1650 lbs
Maximum speed: 68 mph
Mileage: 120 – 180 miles
Max load: 1100 lbs
Recharge time: 4 hours (Mains connector)
Recharge time: 3 minutes (Air station)


The Van
Dimensions: 12.5 ft, 5.6 ft, 5.7 ft
Weight: 1650 lbs
Maximum speed: 68 mph
Mileage: 120 – 180 miles
Maximum load: 1100 lbs
Recharging time: 4 hours (Mains connector)
Recharging time: 3 minutes (Air station)


The Taxi
Dimensions: 12.5 ft, 5.6 ft, 5.7 ft
Weight: 1650 lbs
Maximum speed: 68 mph
Mileage: 120 – 180 miles
Maximum load: 1100 lbs
Recharging time: 4 hours (Mains connector)
Recharging time: 3 minutes (Air station)


The Pickup
Dimensions: 12.5 ft, 5.6 ft, 5.7 ft
Weight: 1650 lbs
Maximum speed: 68 mph
Mileage: 120 – 180 miles
Maximum load: 1100 lbs
Recharging time: 4 hours (Mains connector)
Recharging time: 3 minutes (Air station)


The Mini
Dimensions: 8.6 ft, 5.3 ft, 5.3 ft
Weight: 1650 lbs
Maximum speed: 68 mph
Mileage: 120 – 180 miles
Maximum load: 600 lbs
Recharging time: 4 hours (Mains connector)
Recharging time: 3 minutes (Air station)


The MDI engine has other applications as well. The company is looking into multitude of possibilities for the CAT engines. The nautical field, electric generators, and public transportation have all sparked the interests of the organization.

The CAT may very well be the engine of the future. But for now oil is still king. Here’s how I break it down for MDI’s CAT vehicles.

Advantages
Very economic
Cleaner
Quieter

Disadvantages
Low top speed
Very unsafe on American highways
You become the laughing stock of the entire neighborhood

But I’ll let you decide.

– Luke Burgess