Air-power car gets Indian firm's backing

MUMBAI, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- India's giant Tata business house reportedly will back a French inventor's plan to build cars that will run on compressed air.

Guy Negre says his car, to be ready within the year, will produce no emissions, the BBC reported.

Named OneCAT, the five-seat vehicle will have glass fiber body, weigh about 772 pounds and cost about $4,885, the report said. The car will be driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fiber tanks.

Analysts were quoted as saying the backing from an internationally known company like the Tata makes the idea more marketable.

Tata, which is supporting the project for an undisclosed sum, says Negre's technology can also be applied for power generation.

The carbon-fiber tanks, built into the chassis, can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes, the report said.

On long trips, a fuel burner which heats air can be used to boost the compressed air driving the pistons.

"The first buyers [of the compressed air car] will be people who care about the environment," Negre said. "It also has to be economical."