The Ku:Rin three-wheeled eco-car just took the speed record for a car running on only an air compressor, clocking in at 128km/h. Designed by Toyota, its engine uses a reversed A/C compressor that fires compressed air to create a burst of speed.
Toyota showed off their prototype at the Japan Automobile Research Institute’s test track. It’s one downfall is that it only has a 3.2km range, making it wildly impractical for the everyday. Air compressor cars are still very much in the research stage, but Toyota wants to push the technology as far as they can.
Looks like it’d be great for go-cart racing. [PhysOrg, Autoblog]