Car that runs on fresh air

An environmentally-friendly car that runs on air, produces no pollution and costs only £1 to refuel is to be launched in Britain.

The £6,000 vehicle, which will reach speeds of up to 68mph and do about 125 miles per fuelling stop, has been in development for 10 years.

At first it will only be available in France, where the car's manufacturers plan to make about 3,000 models a year, but production could be extended to the UK in the future.

The vehicle's inventor, Guy Negre, is to present his plans to business leaders in London this month. He says maintenance costs for his car will be less than those of a petrol-run car.

Mr Negre's invention uses air compressed to 300 times atmospheric pressure to run a 700cc engine. Noxious exhaust fumes will be eliminated as the car will produce nothing but clean air.

The pressurised air is stored in a glass-fibre tank which can be filled up using either tyre pumps at petrol stations or by plugging the car's electricallypowered air compressor into the mains at home. Refuelling will take only two minutes, while the at-home charge-up could take four hours.

The French company Motor Development International will initially make four versions: a van, a taxi, a flat-bed pick-up truck and a five-seater family car. A spokesman said: "The car's air conditioning system also makes use of expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, oil changes are only necessary every 31,000 miles."

Mr Negre said his invention will be completely safe. "In the case of an accident with air tank breakage, there would be no explosion or shattering now that the tanks are not metallic, but made of glass fibre," he added.