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Maybe part of the explanation is that it's very light-weight - the car in the photo looks tiny, it says it's made of fiberglass, and my guess is that the engine
by elad 18y ago
Maybe part of the explanation is that it's very light-weight - the car in the photo looks tiny, it says it's made of fiberglass, and my guess is that the engine must also weigh much less than a comparable internal combustion engine (you don't need as much metal to contain the combustion...).
Of course, that probably comes with a heavy price to passenger safety. Fiberglass won't give you any protection in a crush. That may be the reason why Tata is involved and not some European manufacturer. The Euro market has some serious safety regulations.
- mynameishere 18y agoFiberglass won't give you any protection in a crush Damn, just put the tank of air in front. Any wreck will cause a mighty explosion balancing out the various vectors involved. I haven't done (and couldn't do, really) the math, but this seems perfectly reasonable.
- olefoo 18y agoOr use the compressed air to fill a whole vehicle airbag that triggers on items on a collision path. This would mean that your safety systems are highly dependent on software and effective sensors, but hey, cheap car.
- elad 18y agoIt would also mean that your level of protection depends on the amount of air in your tank. As someone who chronically forgets to fill-up, I wouldn't like that idea...