New York 2008: MDI Air Car spotted uncovered

John Neff — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:59:00 EST

Our colleagues at AutoblogGreen happened upon the MDI Air Car uncovered in the lobby of the Jacob Javits Center just now, and were surprised at what they saw. Powered by compressed air stored under pressure in carbon fiber tanks, the Air Car on the floor in New York looks absolutely nothing like prototypes and sketches we've seen in the past. This previous rendering promised a fully-enclosed, Yaris-like cocoon, and even the original prototype at least had a solid roof over your head. Not this one. The body appears to be comprised entirely of injected-molded plastic that was color-keyed to my grandmother's bed spread, and crash protection looks to be on par with the Cozy Coupe. Our crew at ABG will be interviewing the team from MDI later today, so we'll find out more about the MDI Air Car and its many personalities soon.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

New York 2008: MDI Air Car spotted uncovered originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AutoblogGreen interviews Miguel Celades, sales manager for the Air Car

Frank Filipponio — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:35:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Technology

Sister site AutoblogGreen recently had a sitdown with Miguel Celades, the sales manager for Moteur Developpement International (MDI). In case those names aren't immediately recognizable, MDI is the Luxembourg-based company that is developing the Air Car in Southern France. The Air Car, as its name implies, is a car that is powered by compressed air. It was developed by Guy Nègre, a former Formula 1 engineer and designer of the "W" engine configuration made popular at Volkswagen. It was while working with the Renault F1 team that Nègre saw how the race cars were started using compressed air, and that sparked his imagination. He started to design a vehicle that could RUN on compressed air. More than a dozen years later, the firm has teamed with Tata Motors of India to produce the CAT (Compressed Air Technology) and its variants.

Read the whole AB Green interview to learn how automotive noob, Mr. Celades, got involved in the project and what his vision for MDI is throughout the world. He also gives some insight into how the technology works.

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

AutoblogGreen interviews Miguel Celades, sales manager for the Air Car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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