An air-powered car? Sounds almost too good to be true.
How would you react to someone who tried to sell you a car that runs on fresh air?
Guy Negre, a good-humoured man in his mid-60s who claims to have developed a car powered by compressed air: one that produces a fraction of the carbon emissions of a standard engine, reaches speeds of 30mph-plus, that can travel 65 miles on a one-minute recharge and, best of all, costs from just over £3,000.
Given the number of false green-auto dawns, you might wonder why air-powered cars should be any different. While Negre's air cars have similar carbon emissions to electric cars (it all depends how the electricity to power the pumps that fill their air tanks is generated), he argues that air-power is a superior technology. "Compared to electric cars, air-powered cars cost a fraction of the price to buy, they don't need expensive batteries to be replaced every five years or so and crucially they take only a fraction of the time to recharge."
it possesses all the glamour of a souped-up lawnmower, but can easily reach speeds above 25mph.
In full-scale production, air-powered vehicles will range from three-wheeled buggies to a four-wheeled, five-door family saloon. Although the number of models on offer now is limited for cost reasons, they could eventually include vans, buses, taxis and boats.
After you decided to give the electric car a miss can this air powered car turn you away from petrol power??